lat Life Seems to Me 



Continuous Personality and 
Social Evolution 



S. F. Shorey 



Our present gain of happiness is de- 
rived from what we are and what we 
have as a product of life's unfolding 
change; the greater happiness ahead 
must be reached by the same process. 

If, however, rapid strides are to be 
made, a comfortable and inexpensive 
move secured, this process must be edu- 
cationally instituted and intelligently 
operated. What are you doing about it? 



WHAT LIFE SEEMS TO ME 

OR 

CONTINUOUS PERSONALITY 

AND 

SOCIAL EVOLUTION 

By 
S.F. SHOREY 



Other Books by the same writer: 

"The Greatest Men and Women, as Factors 
of Human Progress" 

"Human Harmonies and the Art of Making Them" 

"Injustice and National Decay" 

"Human Progress and Party Functions" 



Published by 

S. F. SHOREY, Seattle, Wash. 

October, 1917 



BD4S-5 - 
.Ss 



Copyrighted October, 1917, 

By 

S. F. Shorey 



/ 

.NOV -5 1917 

CALVERT-CALHOUN PRINTING CO. 



©CU477403 



SOME PREFATORY REMARKS 

CHOUGH it can be made no more than vague- 
ly descriptive, there are few who on reading 
the title of a book, are not hereby led to immedi- 
ately guess at the contents and to form an opinion. 

Hence, the favorable impression made by its 
title has sold many a worthless book, and its op- 
posite has killed the sale of many a meritorious one. 

The aim of these few prefatory remarks is to 
convey to the examiner of this little volume some 
further knowledge of its contents than he is likely 
to gather from the title. 

"Continuous Personality and Social Evolution; 
or, What Life Seems to Me," offers to the reader 
some philosophical reflections on the age old sub- 
ject, of the meaning of life. 

Any one of a dozen other titles would, descrip- 
tively, have served nearly as well ; as, for instance, 
for the first part of the title: 

Human Happiness and the Art of Its Increase 
— The Evolution of Human Happiness — The Art 
of Happiness Gaining — Personal Continuity and 
the Evolution of Happiness — A Look at Life, from 
the Foothills — The Evolution of Human Capacity. 

For what, is herein asked, can be the meaning 
of life, what, if anything, can be learned hereof, 
—3— 



through a rational consideration of the facts of life 
as they appear and pass on before us ? 

Life is a term of conscious existence in which we 
learn by experience, the facts of experience lead 
us to infer other and similar facts beyond experi- 
ence, we are led by analogy from what we know, to 
what we have not yet learned by actual experience ; 
in other words, we are enticed by the experiences 
of life to guess, and encouraged to keep on guessing 
by being able, often, to guess correctly. 

This power to guess is what makes the religionist, 
the philosopher, the scientist, the business man; 
and, progress possible. 

Some things in life, through knowledge gained 
of the evolving process of life, have come to seem 
quite plain: Social improvement, from which all 
are gradually receiving some benefit, seems to be an 
indisputable fact; men and women are moving into 
higher possibilities of expression; and, since pro- 
gress is cumulative, conditions of existence and 
capacity to enjoy greatly transcending the present, 
seem likely to be reached in the future. 

Specifically, we are being driven, it would seem, 
through the extraordinary experiences of our own 
time to gain some greatly needed social results, 
higher ideals and practices which we are not yet 
either wise enough nor honest enough to set in* 
motion voluntarily. 



A large part of that which constitutes the fitness 
of the brute to survive, is its power to overcome 
and kill other brutes ; the belief that human fitness 
to survive is the same, must be, and is being driven 
from the minds of men with suffering, while simul- 
taneously awakening them to the fact that they 
must survive through the establishment of a differ- 
ent and higher fitness, a moral fitness. 

There are many facts in life contributing their 
testimony in evidence hereof. 

All unreliability of conduct calls out a protest. 
There is, and always has been in operation, in the 
affairs of men, a little recognised natural law that 
makes all instrumentalities of injustice self-de- 
structive. In its operation, this law is destined to 
destroy all undemocratic, predatory, and bully types 
of men, of institutions, and of nations — human 
fitness to survive must take the place among us of 
that now occupied by the one of animal fitness to 
survive — animal fitness to survive, when practiced 
by the human, constitutes his fitness to pass away. 

Special privileges are destroyed by abuse of the 
power hereby conferred. Of old it was recognised 
that, "Those whom the gods would destroy they 
first make mad." The unfit to survive, of men and 
of things destroy themselves with their obnoxious- 
ness. 

There seems to be in this move of progress evi- 
_5_ 



dences of an aim to establish that in the practices 
of men which they are not yet far enough awakened 
to render much assistance; consequently, in order 
to achieve the end sought, the awakening process 
must work beyond mass understanding, command 
the social moves of men and make them suffer. 

For, they must become more reliable, less greedy ; 
higher ideals of life and education must be awak- 
ened; also, an appreciative understanding of the 
possibilities of education, and of its importance 
must be gained; and, through suffering, this appre- 
ciation must become so firmly fixed in the feelings, 
as to establish it in practice. 

No man can have perfect freedom of action in a 
community where there is one man who cannot be 
trusted. Consequently, in the interest of the legiti- 
mate freedom of all to act comfortably, it is the 
duty of every person to frown upon, to discourage, 
and as far as possible to prevent dishonest conduct. 

Through what avenue, other than the one of 
work and suffering, has any measure of reliability 
or can any larger measure of reliability be gained; 
or appreciation of any value in life? 

Is not this gain — while passing through this 
brutal phase of unfoldment — the specific, or more 
immediate aim? 

Are not men now learning — through suffering — 
to establish more comfortable, inexpensive, shorter, 

—6— 



and more humane methods of unfoldment; methods 
to obtain easily and quickly all that they now use 
so much energy, destroy so much wealth and sac- 
rifice so many lives to obtain? For, can not both 
appreciation and reliability be educated into prac- 
tice — as soon as men learn the way? 

So much for the evolution of society. But to 
what end are men being driven to act in mass 
harmony ? 

Society has no consciousness, no personality; it 
can neither enjoy nor suffer. 

Unless social unfoldment has in view the building 
of larger units, larger individuals or personalities; 
and, unless also, these personalities survive physical 
death, why should any individual sacrifice much for 
society? Why, if this life is all, should any man 
of this generation, sacrifice his happiness and his 
life to gain that for the next generation which its 
individuals will no more appreciate than do we 
what has been gained for us by the sacrifice of 
those who have passed on before us? 

If this life is all, society demands of the indi- 
vidual that for which it can give nothing in return. 
What right has society, more than the god of a 
pagan temple, to demand this sacrifice? 

This demand is a fact, however, and it is one that 
seems to be made and operated beyond human 



power to control, control seems to be what all the 
suffering caused hereby is trying to teach. 

Is there not herein then, an aim that lies be- 
yond the one of social evolution, a further and 
larger aim, one to unfold human personality, an 
aim to build that which transcends social forms 
and survives physical death, an aim, toward the 
fulfillment of which the social organism serves in- 
strumentally, merely? 

If not, what matters anything but to squeeze 
out of this life the last spark of pleasure possible 
along lines of least personal resistance, as many are 
doing? If this is all, why spend so much time and 
effort in learning and earning that which this life 
allows neither the time nor the opportunity to use? 

Some object there seems to be — in this struggle 
of life, in which the individual is so wantonly sac- 
rificed — other than the one of a continuously bet- 
tering society, nor can it be bettering individuals 
in a series, each one of which becomes extinguished 
with physical death. 

This struggle, in which man awakens to find 
himself submerged, and compelled by the necessi- 
ties of his existence to take part, with no knowledge 
of whence he came, whither, and for what purpose 
he is being driven, and with no possibility of escape, 
except through the gateway of death, there is evi- 
dence of some great purpose, but one too vast to be 



completely grasped by present human comprehen- 
sion. 



LIFE 

H[FE may be viewed as a mountain, which 
rises above the range of human vision to a 
height which no man can estimate, even roughly. 

Many are ascending this mountain — most men 
unconsciously, being driven up the slope, and are 
viewing life from foothills but slightly elevated 
above the surrounding plane — a few are climbing 
consciously, they have reached the apex of, and 
see life from foothills that loom farther up the 
mountain side. 

Between the dead level of the plane and the apex 
of the highest foothill climbed, a great variety of 
views are being offered to the world, for the foot- 
hills are, in number, beyond human estimate. 

Each of the chapters of this book is an essay 
view from one of these foothills, consequently, each 
presents a mental landscape as a whole differing 
from all the others. 

But since life, the matter under consideration, 
presents a very great complexity evolving from a 
unity of cause, some features of each view must ap- 
pear in all ; in other words, there are some thoughts 
in each of these views of life, common to all views 
of life; and, for the reason that in the countless 
forms of life's expression, there are found on 

—11— 



tracing them back, comparatively few elements — a 
parallel is furnished by chemistry. 

There is, then, comparatively little coming to the 
world, that is new, except in forms of expression, 
in the combinations, in views from new, different, 
and higher foothills. 

The discovery of new elements, the move back 
toward the simple in discovery, more remote causes, 
facts more fundamentally imbedded, are few and 
consume a long time between discoveries. 

No new letters are being added to the alphabet; 
the variety of expression hereby furnished, how- 
ever, seems no nearer exhaustion than at the be- 
ginning of its use — in fact its possibilities are on 
the increase. 



—12- 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Some Prefatory Remarks 3 

Life 1 1 

No. Chap. 

I. If Death Ends Personality 15 

II. The Meaning of Struggle and Suffering.. 25 

III. Happiness in This Life? 59 

IV. Must Not Happiness Be Earned? 73 

V. The Cosmic Urge Within Us 103 



-13— 



IF DEATH ENDS PERSONALITY 

XF the human life has no further purpose than 
that which may be achieved in about three 
score years and ten, it has but little value. 

It is not, in fact, worth the trouble of being born 
and of fighting for existence. For, unless person- 
ality survives bodily death — unless evolutionary re- 
sults are individually retained, life (with the strug- 
gle and suffering that most of the inhabitants of 
this world are obliged to pass through) is not only 
worthless, but considerably in the nature of an 
imposition. 

If this be all — if human personality ends with 
physical death — life's great irony is that we fail 
to awaken to most of our possibilities and oppor- 
tunities till too late for this awakening to be of 
any value. 

If individual existence ends with this life, there 
is but little worth being created for; neither is 
there anything in life that can be satisfactorily 
explained. If this short life out of which the most 
fortunate, even, obtain but little, is all, why were 
we created? To what end all these agonies which 
no one escapes? 

If our career on earth is all, why pursue either 
wealth or wisdom at the expense of the pleasures 
—15— 



of each day? For, even with the most successful 
efforts, neither comes early enough to be long en- 
joyed. Nor can the fortune that comes ready-made 
be sufficiently appreciated to be much enjoyed or 
for long. 

We find compulsory action set up in the law of 
life as a condition of existence. Life must be 
fought for — subsistence earned. There is evident 
in life an ever improving action, an unfolding aim 
— but to what end ? 

With great effort, men learn and earn much that 
they have no time to use ; and if they are not given 
the opportunity of another life in which to use and 
enjoy that means and knowledge which they gain 
too late to use and enjoy in this existence, are they 
not denied that to which they are entitled from an 
all- wise and just Creator? 

If we know what justice is (and this one life 
comprises all there is of existence) is it not absurd 
to assume that Creation is the work of a wise and 
just God? 

The religions of the world postulate a just Cre- 
ator, but what proof have most of these to offer in 
support of their theory, that any rational person 
could accept? Of course, there are many facts of 
life leading us to infer that somehow, somewhere, 
and sometime, to each individual, is given an exact 
measure of justice. Such inference is wrong, how- 

^-16— 



ever, unless the individual life is a continuous one. 

To create the human being, drive him and en- 
courage him to learn that which he is given no time 
to use, to allow him to make mistakes that he is 
given no time to correct, to compel him to see what 
he has missed, what he might have been, what 
he might have accomplished, does not appear to the 
rational person to be just if this seeing is given no 
opportunity to serve some purpose that it has no 
time to serve here. 

If personal existence ends with physical death, 
why all this unfairness of inequality that lies be- 
yond the control of the individual, and as found in 
parentage, education, environment, natural ca- 
pacity, and what we call accident or circumstance? 

If that which so strongly urges us to learn what 
can be of no use in this life; to do, also, so much 
that can be but little or not at all enjoyed — if this 
desire for personal continuity and the effort to 
achieve this end has no meaning; if the discoveries 
of modern science contribute nothing in proof of 
personal continuity, we have no proof. 

And unless continuous personal life be a fact, 
what we do on earth can matter but little, for we 
are deceived by our feelings, our hopes, and by the 
many facts of life — we are, in fact, merely pup T 
pets serving, perhaps, as our Creator's playthings. 

So, he who is not reasonably well convinced by 

—17— 



the evidence within and around him of the persist- 
ence of his personality, has a perfect right to be a 
pessimist; for it must be difficult for one, who sees 
no proof of further life for the individual, to be an 
optimist. 

When one tells me that my life is worth living 
merely for this one life and that if it is not, it is my 
own fault, if he believes what he says, he is not con- 
stituted like myself — his consciousness is not like 
mine — we differ radically. 

Through some element of personality with which 
I am not equipped, this man has been able to obtain 
from life so much of satisfaction, that if, as he 
closes his eyes for the last time, he does not quite 
welcome extinction, he is but little disturbed by the 
prospect of doing so. 

This life does not satisfy me — I desire more. Of 
what value to me is what I might have been, but am 
not; what I might have accomplished but did not, 
what I might have enjoyed, but did not; and all for 
the reason that I did not know enough? 

Why is it that I have failed to make the experi- 
ences of this life so complete as to satisfy my de- 
sires for life? In fact, why does living intensify 
my desire for life, even to the extent of continuous 
existence? Why do we find so many in search of 
some elixir of life? 

It cannot be because this present life affords so 

— ia— 



much happiness; is it not, then, in the hope it in- 
spires of better things to come, in the evidence it 
affords that continuous improvement is possible, in 
the vision it furnishes of a future of increasing 
happiness through increase of efficiency and of 
wisdom? 

Through lack of ability to obtain and to use them, 
most of the opportunities in the world are at pres- 
ent of no value to most men. Why is it that ca- 
pacity to discover, to invent, to use, and to enjoy 
must be acquired? 

The many wonderful possibilities in ourselves 
and in our environment, just ahead, and in sight, 
with others constantly coming into view, indicate 
that we are moving forward in response to some 
hidden purpose. 

But of what value to us of today, are all these 
unrealized visions, all this monopolized and idle 
wealth, the million and one things of use, things 
which everybody will be able to obtain a few gen- 
erations hence, when we are dead and men have 
become wiser? 

There are millions in the world who, on gradu- 
ally awakening, would feel the tremendous injus- 
tice and incompleteness of life much more keenly 
if, at the same time, they also felt that this one 
life is the extent of personal duration. 

Could any scheme be better devised to torture 



those who believe that individual life ends with this 
material existence, than the one of awakening them 
to a knowledge of what they have missed; to a 
realization of what they might have accomplished 
and enjoyed, and only at a time of life when too 
late for this awakening to be, to them, of any use? 

No person, perhaps, cares to repeat the experi- 
ences of life; but, nearly all do desire with what 
they have here gained to live on and continue the 
improvement. 

And if you, reader, do not belong in this great 
company of men and women who see what they 
have missed through their ignorance, who see what 
fools they have been, and only when too late for 
the discovery to be of any use, you are unique — 
there are but few of your kind. 

If you feel that life has given you so nearly that 
which, through your aspirations and surroundings, 
it promised you, that desire for more is dead within 
you, and you are quite content at death to bid a 
final adieu to personal existence, you are certainly 
unique. So much do you differ in consciousness 
from the mass of the human family, so far do you 
depart from the normal that you belong among the 
human freaks, curios, or unclassified mutations of life. 

If, as a matter of fact, you do feel satisfied, you 
are a one-life optimist. However, men and women 

—20— 



often say one thing while they feel quite another — 
they like to appear brave. 

If, on the other hand, you feel that personality 
ends with physical death, while at the same time 
you see and feel the incompleteness and injustice 
hereby entailed, see and feel what your ignorance 
and other handicaps have caused you to miss, and 
without recourse of further opportunity for ex- 
pression, you must be a pessimist. What other can 
you be? 

If it be true that in your interpretation of Na- 
ture's symbolical expression, in your reading of the 
external facts, offered you in the well-expressed 
sciences of life (the biological sciences) in the 
field covered by physics, and in the promise of 
hope so strongly implanted by Nature within nearly 
all, to say nothing of what psychic research has to 
offer; if you find in all these no proof of con- 
tinuous personality, neither can you, in conse- 
quence, find any argument for natural justice — no 
proof in all Nature of the existence of a moral law, 
no foundation upon which to build an ethical 
science. 

If this be true in your case, you have a perfect 
right to be a pessimist; for if Nature is as cruel 
and unjust as one life makes it appear to be, it 
furnishes no argument for the practice of moral 
conduct among men. In this life, just when the 



lessons have been learned which, had they been 
known at the beginning, would have made life 
worth living, the learner dies, and if his work has 
borne fruit, the bulk of this fruit will be gathered 
and enjoyed (or, as a rule, squandered) by others. 

In fact, if present existence begins and ends all 
for the individual, those who do most and sacrifice 
most obtain least. 

If physical death means personal extinction, 
most lives must be viewed as failures, for life is a 
stupendous drama in which the shrewdest and most 
unscrupulous shirks often win; it is made up of 
stories in which the triumph of the villian is of so 
frequent an occurrence as to make many deny the 
existence of any natural justice. 

The lives of at least twenty-five in one hundred 
of the human family are filled with terrible experi- 
ences of suffering, with disaster, and with tragedy. 
These experiences often follow in quick succession. 
Are these lives, merely for one period of existence, 
worth while? How many of us, do you think, 
would voluntarily live a life such as any of these, 
just for the one life, could we know its plan before- 
hand? 

Think of being caught in a train wreck, pinned 
under a car, and slowly roasted to death; think of 
the religious martyrs of the Middle Ages; think 
of the poverty-stricken inhabitants of all large 



cities; think of the victims of the Titanic or those 
of any other shipwreck; the victims of bank fail- 
ures, and coal-mine disasters; the horrors of war! 
If we have but one life, are these instituted in the 
Nature of things by a kind and beneficent Father? 

If none of the million and one aspirations inher- 
ent in each of us are ever to be realized, why do 
they exist? Have they no meaning? 

We may well believe that the entire future pro- 
gram of human life is set forth in the facts of 
present appearances and happenings, and that it 
could be plainly read were we sufficiently "un- 
folded" or awakened in consciousness. But think 
what tremendous educational experiences the race 
must pass through to awaken this consciousness ! 

Now, therefore, when you and your family are 
on the verge of starvation, it is most soothing to 
be told that your condition is unnecessary because 
there is a pot of gold hidden somewhere and that 
all you have to do is to find it. It is comforting, 
also, to be told that the banks are congested with 
currency, and that there are millions of untilled 
acres awaiting cultivation. 

The sarcasm is apparent when you realizze that 
your ignorance makes this stored wealth inaccessi- 
ble, and that community ignorance holds these un- 
tilled acres beyond your reach, and the reach of 
others who need them. 

—23— 



This should not be, and if the human being has 
but one span of years in which to live, and life's 
program within this span is one of justice, how 
could it be? 

If human personality ends with physical death, 
creation is a structure of injustice. For man could 
not be given justice with but a single life, without 
being sent into this life equipped with a knowledge 
of just what to do in order to obtain the greatest 
amount of happiness, and with no desire for more 
life. 

In a one-life experience of justice there could 
be no mistakes, no failure, no disasters, no sick- 
ness, no poverty; for there would be no fairness 
in drastic experiences given to teach that which 
could never be used. 

It seems rational to suppose that if this life is 
all, man would arrive equipped with all the knowl- 
edge and everything else to give the highest en- 
joyment, for further lessons would be unnecessary. 

Effort, in such a life, would be a pleasure, since 
it would be made for the enjoyment of its im- 
mediate fruits; there would be no compulsory ac- 
tion, labor would be either delightful action or 
wholly unnecessary, existence would be ideal and 
all would depart this life satisfied and smiling; 
for, it would be a thing felt to be completed. 



THE MEANING OF STRUGGLE AND 
SUFFERING 

g ONE-LIFE theory does not account for 
what is ever before us ; it does not approach 
a satisfactory explanation of the facts of existence. 
And yet, this theory seems to meet the require- 
ments of a certain stage of human unfoldment in 
consciousness, since, (to take their word for it) it 
is accepted by no small number of the dwellers 
upon earth. 

Some purpose there must be in this struggle of 
life, some reason why man is confined to matter 
and limited to a narrow field of consciousness 
which he is enticed and even compelled to enlarge 
upon with effort. This human struggle, this urge 
into and ever higher intelligence by the process 
which we call evolution is moving man while teach- 
ing him to move himself ; and, it would seem toward 
larger results than he can sense. 

The move from darkness to light, from blindness 
to sight, from certainty to ever greater certainty; 
the ignorance that keeps us all guessing and fight- 
ing; this being divided into individual and class 
disagreements, this dispute over whether there is 
or is not any natural justice, whether we have or 
have not any freedom of choice, whether there is 



one life or more, — all these actuating bickerings, 
are evidently serving a purpose in the unfoldment 
of human life ; but, a purpose, the ultimate of which 
we are yet unable to see. 

We can see before us in the present life an un- 
folding process, an improvement that takes place 
through struggle, — work and suffering; — and the 
aim of which seems to be to evolve man into some- 
thing, a being, very much larger in capacity, than 
what we now know as man; a being having a far 
larger expanse of consciousness, greater knowledge, 
greater strength of will, more reliability, larger 
sympathies, keener appreciations, higher emotions, 
a man open and free from deceit and intrigue, one 
who can act with harmony in co-operation with 
others; all this improvement cumulating as a pro- 
duct for the benefit of the individual, through the 
social organism as one of the important instrumen- 
talities of the process. 

And, who can say to what extent this improving 
change may take place in the interest of human 
capacity and happiness? 

But we have a right, it is our duty to inquire 
why this creative power we call God found it neces- 
sary to set up work, tumult, and suffering as a 
leading feature in the scheme of life; because, to 
question is a pioneering duty. 

Is all this wonderful creation the work of some 

—26— 



omnipotent and omniscient being, some transcend- 
ent intelligence ; or, is it the spontaneous outgrowth 
of a blind unconscious force? 

Scientific investigators have, in their endeavor to 
ascertain the meaning and purpose of life, through 
the collection, classification and interpretation of 
the facts of life ; made many important and helpful 
discoveries. 

But, comparatively few of the facts have yet 
been observed, collected, and classified. And so 
far as present knowledge goes to explain life's 
meaning or purpose, other than that we are im- 
proving and seem to be on the way into a larger 
and better life, comparatively little has been ac- 
complished. And most of the interpretations of 
religion-makers are unscientific and feeble, mere 
guesses, many of them absurd. 

So the inquiry goes on: What of the human 
life? Was it instituted for no purpose other than 
this one life of suffering — and serving hereby, per- 
haps, as a Creator's plaything? Or is there not 
evidence herein of a larger purpose — the one of 
evolving through man's own efforts a larger man 
than the one we now know as man, a being of en- 
larged capacity to do and to enjoy, an ideal or 
"super-man" ? 

But why, if our Creator is omnipotent, omnis- 
cient and just and this life is all, did He not set 

—27— 



up all of the enjoyable which we have reached in 
life, at the start, without driving the human family 
through so much suffering to obtain what seems so 
little? 

If this life is all and the creative aim was to set 
up a plan to give justice and human happiness, 
why the failure to do so ? Why the failure to create 
a condition to give, and a human capacity to receive 
far more happiness than can now be obtained? 

Or on the other hand, if this life is all, and this 
brutality, cruelty, and ignorance, happens some- 
how to be a necessary part of this life; why, if 
human happiness is still the aim, were we not so 
constituted, so equipped with nerves as to enjoy it 
all? If this life is all, and its Creator is what we 
believe Him to be, why does life fail so signally to 
meet the requirements of our belief? An omnip- 
otent God could not fail — there is something the 
matter with our theories. 

We are in the habit of inferring that life is a 
cruel affair because of limited human understand- 
ing and, therefore perverse conduct. But why, if 
man is the product of a just and omnipotent Crea- 
tor, and he has but this one life to live, was he 
created without sufficient intelligence to enable him 
to avoid that which brings upon him so much suf- 
fering ? 

Certain cruel facts of life are evident but since 

—2$— 



they are here as a part of the program in which 
we have found so much evidence of excellent intent, 
together with so much more, infinitely transcending 
the greatest power of human comprehension and 
interpretation, we are led herefrom to infer that 
the existing plan of life and action is one well fitted 
— best fitted, it is probable — to secure the highest 
end of human welfare, and that, somewhere and 
sometime, will culminate to this end. 

The cruel facts of life are actual, not in the 
seeming. It gradually breaks in upon the con- 
sciousness, however, through wwconscious unfold- 
ment, that this cruelty is serving the purpose of 
driving man into the undertaking of conscious or 
self unfoldment. 

What we have learned leads to the legitimate in- 
ference, we think, that there is instituted in Nature 
a move of compensation ; hence the work and suffer- 
ing through which human beings are compelled to 
pass call for a compensating product — a reward too 
tremendous for this one life to furnish. 

This fact of being compelled to earn subsistence, 
to pay for things with effort, with some form of 
compensation, by rendering an equivalent, seems to 
argue the existence of a moral law in Nature, that 
extremely limited visions always deny. Though we 
are not yet able to follow the Law in all the in- 
tricacies of its working; from what can be seen we 



are led to infer that a great justice lies concealed 
in the deep down heart of things, beyond the sight 
of the human average. 

The observing and thoughtful person is obliged 
to infer that a one life theory fails to account for 
the facts; it considers but the surface appearance 
of things; life, in this one term operates in utter 
disregard of justice. 

There are before us and working among men, 
two phases of the evolutionary process; one (the 
lower or animal) the compulsory, involuntary, un- 
conscious, slave driven phase; and the other (the 
higher) the conscious, voluntary, sought-for, edu- 
cational phase. 

The first is a process of slow growth ; the second 
is not only a much more rapid process, but one that 
can, by research and education, be continuously en- 
larged upon and increased in rapidity of move. 

Both phases, however, are natural; the later and 
higher has evolved from the former and lower — the 
higher, of course, always being the later product. 

Were we, therefore, to postulate a repeated life 
expression, it is easy to see that in one life of edu- 
cational evolution more unfoldment could be at- 
tained than in several lives of the involuntary type. 

For the majority, voluntary unfoldment (pur- 
poseful self-cultivation) lies some distance in the 
future and can be reached only through great im- 



provement in the science and in the art of educa- 
tion, brought about by the efforts of the awakened 
few. What we call civilized peoples even, have not 
yet learned to control either birth or education, and 
they are, therefore, sense-enthralled and compara- 
tively sluggish. 

Men in the mass are long in learning the most 
elementary lessons. For ages, suffering has very 
evidently been trying to make them see the im- 
portance of reliable conduct with sufficient clear- 
ness to set up among them confidence and harmony 
of action. About how far it has succeeded, the 
present disturbed condition of society shows. 

In a world of nations all led by men so far in- 
telligent as to be honest — that is, in a world of 
nations led by wise men — poverty would soon 
cease; and, consequently, distrust, dishonesty, jeal- 
ousy, greed, and crime would soon pass away ; and 
war between nations would then be impossible. 

There is, therefore, one matter in the world of 
today calling more loudly for recognition — to men 
sufficiently wise to understand — than all other mat- 
ters combined, and this is the matter of education. 

The one item in this education needing as much 
emphasis as all the others combined, is that of 
honesty, reliability, in the interest of a working 
harmony among men. Few seem to realize that 
the expense of living, to say nothing of the high 

—31— 



cost, ever increasing, is due to dishonesty, followed 
by distrust, lack of confidence, evolution of hatred 
cumulating and intensifying till it culminates in 
some great social upheaval; strikes followed by 
revolution or war between nations. 

The majority make the mistake of supposing 
that their leaders are wise men, when, as a matter 
of fact, they are, on the whole, not far above the 
average of intelligence, even; going through the 
schools of today does not make men wise, neces- 
sarily ; and far too little home and school effort is 
expended to make them honest, while our economic 
system fosters dishonesty. 

Leaders of men are not put in public place by 
the ballot but by their own energy — usually, by 
their own "gall"; they select themselves, hire a few 
to consent to their choice, these in turn, and for 
pay, gain the consent of the many by emotional 
persuasion. When once in place they usually be- 
come grafters. 

In the evolution of human awakening, initial, 
educational, and moral steps are always taken by 
the few, men of ideas, who prefer to enlighten men 
rather than to exploit them. 

The great struggle of progress is with human 
awakening; is in using the matter of education — is 
in educating, rather than in the evolution of the 
matter of education, is in placing it in the minds 



of men after it is prepared; the greatest difficulty 
of progress lies in the schooling. 

Of leaders, there are two types; the first of the 
two would enlighten those whom they lead, and the 
second would exploit them to gratify their own 
selfish ambitions. 

When, in the course of unfolding events, the 
difference between these two types can be clearly 
seen by voters, the bully type of the two — the 
selfish exploiter type — will soon be removed from 
taking part in their larger social, economical, and 
political affairs. 

Inferring, then, from the evidence at hand — our 
present moral standard, the average of present 
honesty — this bully type will be able to lead, in 
fact must, for a time yet, lead men to slaughter; 
for it is in the law of life and progress, in the 
law of compensation, in the interest of their own 
growth that men blindly bring upon themselves the 
experiences of suffering which they, with an equal 
opportunity, would inflict upon others. 

The majority have not yet suffered enough to 
evolve in fellow feeling beyond the bully type — the 
evidence is in their faces as well as in their con- 
duct. Are not their unfolding needs, then, now 
better served, and are they not for some time yet 
to be better served by the toilsome, expensive, de- 
structive way of warfare in its many forms; and, 

—33— 



caused by the existence of that which they are not 
yet wise and honest enough to discard, and the 
absence of that which they, for the same reason, 
fail to supply in practice? 

For there must be some reason, not all bad, why 
men select the way of suffering when there is 
abundance of gained information which, if put to 
use, would bring a rapidly unfolding happiness to 
all the races of earth. 

Do the majority take to the suffering way to 
learn specific lessons that can be learned through 
personal experiences alone? 

Is it possible by other means to cultivate, or burn 
into the character, fellow-feeling, honesty, conti- 
nuity, reliable conduct, without which happiness is 
impossible? Can this be accomplished by proxy 
education, or education, properly so called? 

Just how much of the involuntary education of 
suffering must the individual pass through to pre- 
pare him to take up the short, inexpensive, com- 
fortable way of precept, of theoretical or voluntary 
education ? 

Can any method, to awaken right feeling other 
than this one of warfare, be devised and set in 
operation? How many have suffered enough to be 
able to learn at any school, other than the one of 
experience? When and how can voluntary educa- 

—34— 



tion be made to take the place of education by ex- 
perience? Are men yet ready, is the world ready? 

Some day voluntary education and well planned 
action will be instituted, else our ideas about educa- 
tion are entirely wrong, and progress with certain- 
ty impossible to reach. 

Reverting to facts more fundamentally imbedded 
in the laws of life; then: schooling does not while 
in process give to the child very much happiness, 
but it encounters far less difficulty herein, than it 
would find in the experiences of adult life without 
schooling. 

Life opens up along pioneering lines, lines of 
resistance ; schooling opens up new lines of thought 
action — it is not, therefore, a thing of pleasure but 
of increasing consciousness by voluntary effort. 
Play or desultory action, is the natural heritage of 
the child. The child does not, as a rule, like either 
schooling or what we call work. It is not as most 
persons suppose naturally truthful. The savage 
is an easy and consciousless liar, and the child is 
certainly primitive. 

The power of continuity, constructive reliable 
action, truthfulness are evolved as matters of ex- 
perience and of education, more than of heritage. 
The much praised play tendency of men and 
women, card-playing, etc., is merely an early age 
relic passed along by education that will ultimately 

—35— 



disappear. For it is precisely as simple a matter 
to cultivate enjoyable habits of utility as habits of 
time and means wasting. 

On awakening, the human being always finds 
life too short and too valuable to waste. 

The modern tendency is to eliminate from educa- 
tion that which instills into the child the most im- 
portant feature of its character — "pep" — in other 
words present education is considerably "mushy" 
— hence, one service of the great war. 

If each individual must pass through approxi- 
mately the same long time experience, the same 
mistakes and suffering as every other, in order to 
awaken to the value of education, the hope of edu- 
cators is an illusion. 

The "smarty," the youth who runs into all sorts 
of snares and piles up troubles for himself, and 
who, in his ignorance, is satisfied with nothing but 
trying things for himself, having in view the im- 
provement of all things in his line, and failing in 
most; might have taken to the shorter and better 
way had he first been taught what had been al- 
ready learned in his line through the experience 
of others — the prodigal youth, evidently, is but the 
stubborn or petted and untaught youth. 

Nature can not teach the spoiled youth in the 
hands of his fond and foolish parents. 

What then, is the meaning of life? Does a ra- 



tional interpretation of the meaning of the facts of 
life pronounce unhappiness, an affliction, or what 
we understand as punishment? 

If so, what becomes of the omniscient and om- 
nipotent Creator postulated in most religions? 
What confidence could be placed in a Creator 
understood by the rationality of man, then proved 
by his investigations, to have made such a mistake 
in His creation as to be obliged to correct it 
through human punishment? 

Is it not evident that such a concept is irrational, 
is but the conceit of an immature mind; a guess of 
the early ages, and practically bad for today; but, 
nevertheless, stupidly adhered to as a habit of 
practice; and, in fear and trembling? 

Since we find life in motion with an inner im- 
petus of struggle through which in part it arrives 
at increase of power, a stronger will and a larger 
consciousness that enables it to persist in the face 
of suffering, does not a rational interpretation of 
the suffering part of this program seem to pro- 
nounce it the effect of pioneering the way into 
stamina and new knowledge by the involuntary 
process, instead of the voluntary way? That is, 
is it not the effect of being driven to learn, to cul- 
tivate firmness and reliability, instead of selecting 
to do so; the effect of the long, because largely 
wrong way, and, through which attention is ar- 

—37— 



rested to make men think out the shorter and easier 
way? 

Anyhow, this is the individualizing way of all 
life, and the way evidently, set up to entice and 
to drive human beings onward and upward to con- 
scious control of their unfoldment into higher 
planes of existence. 

We can only guess why, for this purpose, some 
way, other than the one instituted, was not selected. 
This way, however, as noted above, confers human 
responsibility, tends to give to the will ever greater 
strength and freedom of action, while driving and 
coaxing men into increasing reliability of word and 
deed. 

A Being capable of creating and setting in 
motion this Universe, should be able to devise the 
best plan for human unfoldment — a small part of 
the creation. And, in viewing this work in the 
light of present gain of knowledge, it seems safe 
to assume that the evolutionary way of life is a 
most excellent way, the best, perhaps — possibly the 
only way. If not, what are we to do about it? 

This much is evident: man has been made to 
improve with action, and in order to make certain 
of this action (it would seem) he has been equipped 
with desires, with needs, and placed in an environ- 
ment where his needs cannot be supplied and his 
desires gratified without work. In order, also, to 

—38— 



make his improvement continuous, he is so con- 
stituted as never to be quite satisfied with his 
finished work. 

For the reason that he does not particularly like 
work, he seeks to supply his needs and to gratify 
his desires along lines of least resistance, inventing 
ever easier ways, and gradually learning to like 
work; thus moving ever more completely out upon 
the plane of voluntary and more comfortable action. 

All along the way he is enticed to improve by 
his desire for something better. The discomfort 
caused by his dissatisfaction with himself, what he 
has and what he does, drives him to improve both 
himself and his surroundings to serve his own 
ends. All improvement is made possible through 
the instrumentality of the nerve lines of the body ; 
back over which the experiences of life are passed, 
to be, somehow, stored as results, in the subcon- 
scious mind or memory, evidently. This storing 
process of the nervous system seems to stand at 
the head of its functions. 

This bustling, stinging, excruciating discipline of 
life, then, that refuses to let up for a moment, is, 
perhaps, entirely educative. 

Increase of understanding seems to be the cen- 
tral purpose of the human life; fitness to survive 
depends on observing the law in conformity here- 
with. Each individual is found to be equipped with 

—39— 



the freedom of will to work with or against the law 
of his own enlightenment; this he uses to enlighten 
as fast as he reaches understanding. 

Understanding and its consequent, voluntary pur- 
poseful action, are evolved in men by driving and 
enticing them through a tremendous amount of de- 
struction and suffering. 

Suffering is not punishment, but an effect accom- 
panying the unfolding process; through errors of 
way, in their effort to improve or in their lack of 
efforts to improve men encounter sickness, poverty, 
warfare, unreliability, and are hereby taught the 
right way. 

The suffering caused by waste or non-appre- 
ciative, ignorant use, prodigality; and, over con- 
servation, by which is meant lack of change, all 
retention of back-number forms, the lack of ability 
to break bad habits and improve; is Nature's pro- 
test or effort to show the importance and possibili- 
ties of voluntarily improving form and action. 

For the way of most learning is involuntary ; the 
rat, even, is not quite automatic; it learns from its 
mistakes, and the majority of men have learned to 
do but little more. Can the suffering of the rat be 
viewed as what orthidox Christians call punish- 
ment, or as what Theosophists call Karma? 

First acts are seldom right, and never perhaps, 
quite satisfactory, even when right, till verification 

—40— 



has been obtained by trying one or more wrong 
ways. Thus is slowly evolved an equipment of 
voluntary education; a supply of books, of maga- 
zines, or papers, and of schools. 

Since the plan is to unfold intelligence and the 
free action of the human will, all can be as lazy, 
as dishonest, as criminal- — all can shirk and lie and 
cheat and fight as much as they choose. 

But the consequences of all this, the inexorable 
entail of suffering, the unpleasantness that inevi- 
tably follows as a result of foolish conduct men 
are long in the learning. They seem unable to 
reason their way back from the ills of life to their 
immediate causes, much less do we find them able 
to reach causes that lie somewhat remotely im- 
bedded. 

Consequently, they come to know the easier and 
better way by suffering the consequences of going 
the long and toilsome way. This, on the surface 
of events, looks like punishment in the human sense 
of punishment; and for this reason, evidently, is 
the original of the devil and hell of all the "wee" 
religious that have ever arisen among men. 

The disturbance caused by unreliability gives 
birth in the minds of men to a Devil concept; and 
this Devil they find working mischief or raising 
hell; without realizing that all this is of their own 

—41— 



making; and its purpose, evidently, is to enlighten 
the race and cure it of unreliability. 

Life is a panorama of experience; to make this 
more deliberate and purposeful constitutes the wis- 
dom of life and action. The feeling of appreciation 
and, therefore, of enjoyment comes through the 
effort that brings not alone bread and butter, but 
greater wisdom, more freedom, a larger conscious- 
ness. 

This discard of the poorer things of life that 
must precede the adoption of the better things, 
seems to our limited outlook, in the rapidly un- 
folding move, to be a sacrifice. 

The suffering experienced in the process is due 
to the reluctance of the parting, the prejudice cling- 
ing of the affections to old forms and modes of 
action, the "hold on" of the mind that accompanies 
and retards the move of all bettering change. 

The meaning of sickness, warfare and suffering 
is that the evolution of voluntary improvement is 
too slow to meet the naturally prescribed require- 
ments of either social or of individual progress. 

This requirement men must learn and meet with 
intelligently conducted change. Today, the unre- 
liability of men, their gross and predatory desires 
keep all men in slavery, and will continue to do so, 
as long as such desires lead. Little independence 



can ever be gained by men to whom living means 
no more than present gratification. 

There are certain requirements of progressive 
change that men have always waited and still wait 
to be driven to make; and, in consequence of wait- 
ing and being driven, a tremendous cost of penalty 
is attached in the expense of breaking up and re- 
moving time accumulations of dead and waste forms 
and material: as in typhoid fever, the present war 
in Europe. 

The conservation of privileges and special in- 
terests are largely responsible for the delay of pro- 
gressive change; and in consequence the destruc- 
tion., confusion, tremendous expense, sacrifice and 
suffering that in making the reform, accompanies 
the discard of antique forms, customs, religions, 
governments, and usages — men will be driven till 
some day they will learn to discard the unfit volun- 
tarily. 

In order to somewhat alleviate, with mental 
treatment, the tortures that accompany this involun- 
tary exchange of the poorer instrumentalities of 
progress for the better; men set up totem poles 
in great number and variety of form instead of 
meeting the requirements of the law at their in- 
ception. 

Back in the dim ages, sun worship, star worship, 
sex worship, nature worship were in vogue; later 



on many others, coming down to Buddhism, Chris- 
tianity, Christian Science, New Thought, etc. 

The conduct of life is, on the whole, becoming 
more purposeful because more thoughtful, more 
scientific. Men are making for themselves better 
gods, or better expressed god concepts, because the 
image (man) in which they make their gods is im- 
proving. Enlightenment, puts the devils of men 
out of business ; for enlightenment helps men to be 
reliable, to improve voluntarily and to cultivate 
will power without the assistance of a devil. 

The present sum of human knowledge is very 
largely a product of the undirected struggle of life, 
more a product of experience than of education, 
properly so called. 

Men become strong by understanding and over- 
coming that which makes them suffer. 

The reluctantly yielding soil of a people makes 
of them firm reliable workers, it brings out their 
mettle to the extent that they conquer; to the ex- 
tent that they are mastered by their conflicts, do 
they deteriorate. 

To have voluntarily acquired good health and the 
ability to work easily, cheerfully, and skilfully is 
to have achieved a very large measure of freedom; 
while he who works under protest is still the slave 
of his tribal inheritance. 

In their stubborn determination to have inde- 

-44— 



pendence of action, men search for freedom by 
devious ways, while the only highway leading 
straight thereto is the one of enlightenment. 

Consequently, some learn their elementary les- 
sons mobilized, others in the treadmill of the fam- 
ily, the professional or the business life; while a 
few must yet be awakened by a term in the peni- 
tentiary. 

The rule of life, so far, is to take long and ex- 
pensive ways to learn short lessons. 

Awakening instrumentalities there are in abund- 
ance; and a beneficient provision is, that most of 
those who, during the smarting experiences of their 
awakening would be a menace to others, are held 
in check by their fears of men, institutions, and of 
their totem poles, or God concepts. 

Compulsory education always comes high; but 
we meet the expense of our warfare tuition with 
church support, bonds, mortgages, installment buy- 
ing, interest, personal property tax; and by invest- 
ing in other high priced shoddy and quackery. 

Many men take advantage of other men, when 
and where they find they can do so and see no 
penalty attached. And, in cases where these others 
are, by being wronged, driven to learn to protect 
themselves against wrong, they survive among the 
fitted to survive. 

Warfare, as a spur to tremendous human action, 



must be meeting some requirement of the world's 
group-education, since the cause (so plainly vis- 
ible) will not be acknowledged, by men in control, 
to be the cause and removed, nor by the many who 
suffer most, while they select to remain impotent 
through their ignorance. Consequently, warfare 
must continue till such time as all the lessons have 
been learned that warfare among the nations can 
teach. 

Only by assuming the purpose of life to be edu- 
cational, the process, so far, chiefly involuntary, 
can what we find in life be explained with any 
satisfaction; for all the facts of life contribute their 
testimony in evidence thereof. 

In no way but as an educational function, are 
we able to explain most of the facts of leadership. 
However much a leader of men may know, the edu- 
cational requirements of his constituency prevent a 
wisdom of service much beyond the average of in- 
telligence and honesty. To obtain place, he must 
subscribe to the dominant superstition, and as a 
representative he must lead his church, club, city, 
state, or national group into, and through sufficient 
dishonest, infernal and foolish experience, and suf- 
fering to meet their expectations and serve their 
educational needs. 

For instance, no man, however great his wisdom 
might be, could become president of the United 



States without creating the impression that he sub- 
scribes to the Christian religion. 

Intelligence expands through group experience 
as well as through individual experience. 

Group rivalry, serves as a spur to action and to 
preserve the balance of power through which im- 
proving change, or evolutionary unfoldment is pro- 
tected — this rivalry protection is indispensible. 

For could there arise, at the present stage of 
human arrival ; a party, religion, faction, or nation, 
having the power to dominate the world — a hap- 
pening against which progress has always been and 
is still fighting — it would, with its belief in itself 
and consequent bullying ignorance, wreck civiliza- 
tion. 

But the evident intent of all this struggle is to 
effect human improvement. From what viewpoint, 
other than to evolve reliability of conduct among 
men, can want and suffering be explained, with the 
abundance of opportunity in the world for all, 
awaiting use in production and distribution? 

In the nature of things, are not men shut out 
from abundance and happiness by their dishonesty, 
and are they not dishonest because they are igno- 
rant of life's larger purpose? 

Consequently, a matter of the utmost importance 
is to reach through the opening consciousness a 
view from whence the purpose of life can be more 



clearly seen to be educational ; and, not in the sense 
of one life merely. 

For it is this one life view that now leads the 
majority to believe ease, comfort, and pleasure 
seeking, to be about the only matters in life worth 
seeking. Consequently, at this stage, with the 
abundance of material means to use, such as free 
opportunity to produce would give, would not any 
race now in existence, deteriorate rather than im- 
prove. 

Would not such comfortableness as this abund- 
ance would afford act upon minds of such primitive- 
ness much like a hot climate? 

Why men are deprived of what they believe to 
be theirs by reason of natural right, is very evi- 
dent — they have not yet met but do not clearly see 
that they have not met, the requirements. They 
are equipped with sufficient freedom of will to act 
and to learn, and the price of possession, or the 
purchase price of what they desire, must be secured 
by using this equipment; and, using it honestly. 

This conflict in motion between men and their 
institutions and between nations is serving a very 
important function, as an eliminating, or dead form 
smashing spur, in the interest of their mutual im- 
provement. 

The eliminating, or mutual destruction part of 
the process, must cause sufficient inconvenience and 

—48— 



suffering to prompt the establishment of a better, 
or scientific system of education, with the art of its 
application. 

In other words, the central aim of this move of 
events seems to be to drive man to set up in prac- 
tice the science and the art of meeting the require- 
ments of progress with a revising change; to drive 
him to improve to where he can initiate improve- 
ment without being driven. 

For instance, monopoly has educated, and is still 
educating men by making them suffer. Than mon- 
opoly, special privilege holding, there is no greater 
injustice in the world, none that has created greater 
disturbance and caused more suffering. 

But that which does away with the private 
ownership of these public utilities, and other mon- 
opolies, is not initiated by the many, but very large- 
ly by private holders ; and, with the unfair use they 
make of the means hereby appropriated, the abuse, 
the greed they show to secure more. 

It is very evident that men have not learned to 
far initiate their own awakening and freedom; am- 
bitious and unscrupulous men awaken and inform 
sluggish, unthinking men by inflicting upon them 
the injustices which make them suffer. 

That it is established in the unfolding law for 
the private holding of the public franchise to work 
its own destruction, explains why it is that we find 

—49— 



the beneficiaries of these holdings doing so many 
things wiser men would not do; watering their 
stock, and in their efforts to shut out the small 
competitor, stooping to a low down meanness of 
conduct such as few small business men would 
think of indulging in. 

In general terms it may be stated, that the self 
destruction of ignorance, and of injustice is estab- 
lished in the unfolding Law of Life. 

The majority learn only so fast as their ignor- 
ance makes them suffer; few see and remove the 
obstacles from the pathway of life till hurt by 
them. 

It is very certain that men do not select the 
larger moves of their lives; and most men com- 
paratively few of the minor ones; the great ma- 
jority, in their action, are very nearly automatic. 

The sphere within which a man's will has some 
freedom of action and selective control, is com- 
mensurate with his sphere of consciousness or in- 
telligence; but his sphere of intelligence is small, 
consequently the free action of his will not large. 

Within this sphere, already evolved, can be seen 
some ability to initiate action; and, also, what is of 
equal importance, some ability to terminate action. 
For, successful action must be selective, a know- 
ledge of what to do and how to do must precede 
and accompany the doing. 

—50— 



A continuous gain of initiative ability, in the 
search for educational experience, is of the utmost 
importance; but so, also, is. a gain of ability to 
terminate any given experience at the end of its 
term of usefulness; that is, to eliminate wrong or 
progress retarding prejudices, to quit an old so- 
ciety, an old and progress retarding habit; in fact 
to break up static forms of all sorts. The needed 
gain in other words, is one that involves the dual 
process of reconstruction, and must be operated 
with the power of discrimination or selection — with 
what we call good judgment. 

It may be asserted with perfect safety, that in 
their very large educational experiences men are 
far from being sufficiently unfolded and awakened 
to select for themselves ; for one thing, they are a 
long way from having sufficient right feeling to in- 
sure honesty. 

Nature, or the law of life, therefore, in selecting 
for them the means to serve their larger, awaken- 
ing end, puts them through tremendous experiences 
of suffering. 

Leaders of men, if successful, can not serve very 
far beyond the average intelligence and honesty of 
their constituents. 

There is always a fight on between governments 
and individuals; the one acting arbitrarily and 

—51— 



tyrannically and the other ignorantly and rebel- 
liously — each corrects and improves the other. 

While the race is crossing this stage of blind 
unreliability, this involuntary, undemocratic, bully- 
infested stage of its unfoldment, it can endure much 
suffering and enjoy an immense amount of tyranny 
and flattery; for its wisdom is small, its feelings 
not keen, its ideals not high, and its conduct of life 
still lower. 

The process is one of awakening men with kicks 
to the point where they can be awakened with an 
idea ; the members of a corporation must lose a city 
franchise to grow them large enough not to corrupt 
weak men in public life; to awaken them to the 
fact that the purchase of a state legislature reacts 
fatally on the purchaser, that watered stock is 
stolen franchise value. There are yet among us a 
few back numbers who must be sent to reflect in 
prison to learn better than to rob a hen roost. 

The more we know the better use can we make 
of everything. Objects of ambition, as men become 
wiser, will be less offensively sought and less 
selfishly expressed. 

Ambitious men, however, are required to awaken 
other, more sluggish men. 

The world could not move successfully forward 
without men having a desire to do more than the 
ordinary. The more vividly you and I can imagine 

—52— 



that the world needs and must have us, depends on 
our efforts; the more we can feel that we are "IT," 
the more we can convince ourselves or become con- 
vinced by our own desires and by the applause of 
others that we are Atlas with the entire world rest- 
ing upon our broad and able shoulders, the more 
we are hypnotized with our own egotism into the 
belief that the world cannot get along without us — 
the more we can accomplish. 

But the use of ambition needs watching; for, 
oftener than not it is found in action without moral 
attachment, invading and usurping the rights of 
others. 

The world is improving but there yet lingers, and 
is very much in evidence among us, an early-age or 
atavistic type of man; a man having by inherited 
tendency strengthened by education, a pre-civiliza- 
tion form of ambition; that is, a desire to triumph 
over others, to play the part of the autocrat and 
the bully. 

Men of this dark age type love to set themselves 
apart to dictate, to be admired and applauded by 
the indiscriminating many. 

This selfish type is very much in evidence among 
leaders of men; its influence explains the govern- 
ments, the political parties and the churches, which 
if allowed to do so would dominate the minds of 

—5a— 



all men, roast them at the stake, and, with its bully- 
ing ignorance throttle progress. 

Hence, the need of vigilance, for in the interest 
of human progress and happiness, the influence of 
this type needs to be eliminated as rapidly as pos- 
sible ; for, when ambitions have been so far elevated 
with enlightenment, that leaders of men can be 
lured forward with high ideals, they will serve as 
progressive factors of tremendous power. 

The time is not yet, however, for the ideals are 
not yet ready, neither are the masses; few have 
sufficient of either wisdom or of honesty. 

In the interest of their unfoldment, therefore, 
the masses must be used by these back number, 
bullying institutions to forward selfish schemes of 
ambition — mass ignorance must be cured by a sur- 
feit of that tyranny which it would itself practice 
with an equally good opportunity to do so. 

Few can see the meaning of struggle; conse- 
quently, no race, nation, or community, and few 
individuals can improve much without being made 
to suffer. 

What men owe for an opportunity to gratify 
their ambitions in a place of public trust is honest 
service ; yet, it is most frequently used as a private 
possession to graft the public ; many in public place 
are not satisfied with applause, their salary, and 
personal improvement, but seek and often obtain 



the private monopoly of the natural opportunities 
of millions of other men. 

The correction of all this, however, is a matter 
of unfoldment. Before present knowledge, even, 
can be practiced; the result of which would be re- 
liability of conduct; the majority must have passed 
through sufficient suffering, to have unfolded de- 
mocracy of feeling or enough to kill out the snob 
in themselves. 

Men suffer to make them learn, and they suffer 
still more in being driven to practice what they 
learn — at what time and place will this compulsory 
education cease to be useful? 

Great benefits, undoubtedly, are ultimately to be 
derived from democratic forms of government; but 
only so fast as men suffer enough from the abuse 
of the freedom hereby secured, to drive them to use 
this freedom more wisely and honestly. 

The fact — that freedom is an equipment of 
power, entailing a responsibiliay in the use; and, 
in proportion to the gain of this power or scope of 
freedom to act — is altogether too little realized and 
heeded. 

Economic education and practice, for instance, 
can be seen limping blindly and dishonestly behind 
economic theory. Certain principles, with which 
to estimate the value of men and institutions — well 
known to a few — need to be placed in the minds of 



all voters through educational channels; foolish 
ballotting and its consequence of dishonesty in gov- 
ernment, are due to the failure to do so. 

In its evolution, human life is now crossing a 
stage of tremendous but ill-controlled action ; which 
may be roughly divided into two phases of manifes- 
tation; a gain of knowledge accompanied by, or 
followed by a gain of practice; the first — know- 
ledge — is gained, largely, through suffering and the 
second — practice — is gained through more suffer- 
ing. 

But while this is taking place, the lesson, to act 
from more deeply imbedded and honest motives is 
learned; and, the larger meaning of life comes to 
be seen; when, jealousy gives way to mutual help- 
fulness, animosity to reciprocity, contempt to ap- 
preciation, distrust to confidence, intolerance to 
toleration; the two sides of matters and things 
come to be seen, each individual awakens to the 
value of the other individual, each side to the value 
of the other side, co-operation creeps in between 
leaders and led; between employer and employed. 

At present there is too great belief in superior 
and inferior ; and the consequence of which is strife. 

Leaders of men in thought and action are neces- 
sary, during the early stages of community unfold- 
ment few are equipped with initiative. Men in 
common with other animals, improve but slowly. 



By means of observation and imitation gradual 
awakening is obtained, after a long time, self- 
reliance, the power to infer, to rationate, to gen- 
eralize, to organize, and to moralize is gained. 

But because, with the many, these later mental 
equipments are in process of unfoldment merely, 
largely in the coming, they depend on authorities 
and pictures, and must have leaders to look up to 
and imitate. 

Hence, the observing person can see that the 
present life is an intermingling of every stage, 
plane, or mountain-range of growth; use any set 
of tangible figures you prefer to represent the in- 
tangible unfoldment of the souls or minds of men. 

Account for it as you will, there are compara- 
tively few among us who have finished crossing the 
plane of imitation and thrown away the crutches 
with which they crossed. The majority are cling- 
ing to something — a church, club, society, lawyer, 
doctor; they are dominated and taught by author- 
ities while at the same time being continuously dis- 
appointed by them. The aim seems to be to cul- 
tivate in men more self-reliance, for the less self- 
reliant they are the more do their teachers disap- 
point them. 

So, there comes a time — as a rule this is but 
gradual — and, through countless disappointments — 
when the awakening soul becomes detached and 

— 57— 



rebellious, hatches, throws off its shell or shackles 
and starts crossing the plane of anarchy alone — 
growling, fighting, and suffering. A few cross this 
plane quickly with education, in a few years or 
even months, for the pathway has been surveyed 
and educationally mapped by those who have gone 
before us. Yet others consume a lifetime, or even, 
it may be, many lives in reaching through ex- 
perience alone, the plane of continuous reconstruc- 
tion — a condition of comfortable move forward. 

It seems rational, then, to infer that through 
suffering and the action we call work, all are driven 
across the planes of lives and over the divides to 
other planes, each in its succession, a trifle higher. 



—58— 



HAPPINESS IN THIS LIFE? 

HET us now view this matter of life's unfold- 
ment from another of life's foothills. 

What men know of right and wrong they have 
learned from experience. The right move, the 
right thing in conduct or in anything else, cannot 
be known till some one has experienced the wrong 
and suffered therefrom. 

What the world has gained of wisdom it has 
gained through great struggle or by wrong moves, 
and the accompaniment of, or entail of suffering. 
Wisdom means that somewhere and sometime there 
has been a great sacrifice of happiness. 

The struggle for a thing creates a feeling of 
appreciation for that which the struggle brings, 
and the feeling of appreciation is what gives hap- 
piness. Happiness consists of that serene and 
abiding pleasure which is understood feelingly; 
that is appreciated. 

Does life, then, seem to be purposed to give 
human happiness in this life? If so, few of the 
facts of life have, to us as yet, any meaning. 

If the aim of life is to give happiness in this 
life, why does not direct pleasure-seeking give the 
happiness sought; why does it not go on increasing 
in intensity, even, instead of, (as it does) fail in 



the first instance, and in the second, instead of 
increasing, decline till the pleasure has entirely 
departed ? 

Is it not because true happiness can be ex- 
perienced by men and women only in the propor- 
tion that they have gained right feeling through 
work, because in no other way can a thing be so 
well understood as to be felt appreciatively? 

Is not our happiness high, then, in proportion 
to our understanding, and therefore to our appre- 
ciation of that which we experience? In other 
words, does not work give understanding, under- 
standing appreciation, appreciation right feeling, 
and right feeling give rise to happiness? 

The line of least resistance is always first sought 
— easy methods, short cuts, the shirk and get rid 
of work ways ; laziness and play are the old natural, 
love of work is the new, the later evolved and the 
higher natural. 

Only at the end of unintelligent and direct 
pleasure-seeking — in the discomfort entailed — does 
the victim of such erroneous seeking know better 
than to repeat. 

And this is the program of life, through which 
endeavor seems being made to entice and drive all 
onward, out into the larger light and freedom of 
ever greater wisdom. 

The rule in this pursuit of happiness, is to find 

—60— 



it in small quantities and mixed with much disap- 
pointment; for the reason, evidently that the pre- 
paratory steps are usually neglected, the pursuit is 
too direct, the endeavor is made to steal happiness ; 
or, perhaps, better to say, men apply for that which 
they have not yet cultivated the capacity to use 
enjoyably. Select your illustrations from the abun- 
dance of experiences of your own life. From the 
consequence of this neglect and its entail of dis- 
appointment, many conclude (and in spite of what 
they claim to the contrary) that life is fatuous 
rather than purposeful. 

And, they reason, and reasoning, they practice, 
"If this life is all, and I suspect that it is, what 
matters anything but to take to the line of least 
resistance in squeezing out of life the last possible 
drop of sensual pleasure, regardless of the rights of 
others." Than this, what better excuse does any 
man need for his selfish conduct? 

The central aim of this life seems to be a gain 
of knowledge, and, to insure this gain, enough hap- 
piness is allowed to keep human beings trying for 
more, inspired with the hope of a much greater, 
ultimate happiness. 

This life does not seem to be planned to give 
happiness as a thing of first consideration; the 
primary aim seems to be educational experience; 
it seems purposed to cultivate in men and women 

—61— 



an ever greater capacity to receive and use hap- 
piness. 

In other words, Nature's human program is still 
in process. Her present achievement is but the 
foundation of the structure. 

Successive planes of increasing happiness have 
not been reached, nor are they to be reached, 
through avenues of direct happiness-seeking; but 
through the increase of wisdom and growing in- 
tensity of feeling derived from successfully meet- 
ing the combats of life. 

The plan of progress is being gradually better 
understood and a better practice instituted to assist 
the forward move; but so far men have not volun- 
teered to improve so much as they have been driven 
like slaves to improve. The little of happiness 
reached has been through suffering. 

All that we are enjoying today in the way of 
improvement as embodied in invention is due to 
the inconvenience of using poor tools and machines. 
All along down through the ages poorer things of 
all sorts — and in a particular way does this hold 
true of conduct — have destroyed themselves or dis- 
placed themselves with better things, by making 
men suffer. 

The automobile is a cumulation of efforts — the 
up-to-date of inconvenience piled on inconvenience, 
a product of discomforts, reaching back, no man 



dare say how far into the dim ages left behind us. 

Only by suffering do men learn to avoid the 
wrong which brings suffering. Hence, has arisen 
the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention." 

All that is known of the art of keeping well has 
been learned through pain. All the new healing 
cults ; mental, psychological, magnetic, et cetera ; all 
alike — except in their names, the form of their 
expression and application — is the up-to-date of 
knowledge in this respect, that has been gained by 
the discomfort of sickness. This body of know- 
ledge is accessible to those only who have, through 
some form of personal adversity, overtaken the pro- 
cession with the selective power of will and under- 
standing. 

The place in their unfoldment where they can 
learn much without being kicked has been reached 
by comparatively few among us ; yet, all, evidently, 
are destined to move onward to the mental plane 
where seeking happiness through the gateway of 
knowledge will be the rule. 

Today, or at the present stage of progress, to 
the extent that any one of the great human majority 
obtains that which removes the necessity for effort 
and gives continuous pleasure, does he fail to learn; 
and begin hereat, straightway to degenerate. 

This combination ideal of happiness and wisdom- 
gaining, which certain cults believe they have 



reached — as shown by their smug belief in their 
completeness — is an ideal that extremely few, if 
any, have reached in the realization — it takes time 
for a mental picture to materialize, and the imagi- 
nation often leads us to believe we have already 
reached in practice that which is yet far away in 
the land of dreams. 

The greater motive power of the human life lies, 
as yet, beyond human consciousness. Consequently, 
much of the bad in human conduct is not purposely 
so; bad acts appear only because the better things 
to do lie beyond human knowledge and, therefore, 
beyond human selection. The move, though for- 
ward, is largely involuntary, having in view, evi- 
dently, the object of awakening men to the im- 
portance of building capacity to enjoy; and, hap- 
piness does not lead this building move but follows 
as a consequence. 

The happiness secured along the toilsome way of 
gaining a larger consciousness, active wisdom and 
a greater intensity of right feeling, appears in bits 
as encouraging samples of the greater happiness to 
come. But in all this move, little freedom of human 
will is yet exercised, comparatively little intelli- 
gence used — the building lies, largely beyond hu- 
man consciousness. 

As shown by the facts of life, we are moving 
toward something that does not yet appear; a cumu- 

—64— 



lation that lies beyond the horizon of this life's 
consciousness. 

Many are found doing much in life which they 
can not rationally explain — often taking upon 
themselves experiences of misery instead of the 
experiences of happiness which they might have. 
So far do a small number subordinate happiness to 
knowledge-gaining as to take away most of the 
ordinary pleasures of life, and a few sacrifice their 
lives to what they feel to be their particular duty. 

Whether rich or poor, no one can do precisely 
what he prefers; no circumstance of life can be 
found in which the educational experience of suffer- 
ing can be escaped. 

How much of this experience is selected, how 
much imposed? Are we not moved in our conduct 
of life, by a proclivity that lies largely beyond both 
will and intelligence, a tendency set up in the orig- 
inal or cosmic plan of life that compels us to act 
in certain ways while we gradually gain sufficient 
will and intelligence to act as individuals, volun- 
tarily? And, if not to gain independence of action 
and a product of personality to be used beyond the 
border line of this life, WHAT? — since but little 
of either gain can be used on this side. 

Is it not very evident that there has been and 
still is an intelligence operating through human 
conduct, much larger than human intelligence? 

—65— 



If the purpose of this life is to give human hap- 
piness, it has certainly missed the mark. If this 
was the creative intent, the human being should 
have been differently equipped, differently con- 
stituted and impulsed, differently environed and, 
as set forth elsewhere in this essay. 

If the creative intent was to give happiness in 
this life, men should have been sent fully equipped 
with wisdom, with mutual understanding, with the 
feeling of appreciation and honesty, with plenty to 
eat, plenty to wear, and in other ways to enjoy 
without being obliged to work for it. Why does 
a warm climate fail to produce a hardy and vigor- 
ous race? Why do hard knocks produce men best 
worth while ? Why do men fight so fiercely to gain 
things of so little worth, and that can be used for 
so short a time if gained? 

All the facts of life seem to contradict the belief 
that the first purpose of this life is one to give 
individual happiness; men are in pursuit of ideals, 
but were the sole purpose of this life to gain hap- 
piness, they need not and would not be in pursuit 
of ideals, they would know all they need to know. 

The pursuit of ideals, however, is a fact; but 
practically speaking, few have succeeded in cap- 
turing a high grade. What we are about half con- 
sciously after, or are being driven to obtain, evi- 
dently, is not immediate happiness, as a deeper 

—66— 



analysis will show, but a happiness that is more 
remote, greater, and secured through a commensu- 
rate gain of capacity. 

For, judging by that which is plentifully in evi- 
dence all around us, no one knows enough, appre- 
ciates enough, has enough controlled right feeling 
to enjoy, in any high degree, the gifts of life and 
the conquests of work already secured. 

This life does not now afford right economic con- 
ditions; neither is it long enough to build much or 
to open consciousness to a very high grade of con- 
trolled appreciative enjoyment. Yet the struggle 
continues, in large part, for that which can have 
no possible use in this life. 

The human being of today seems merely the 
basement of a grand structure yet to appear, the 
good start of a building far transcending any yet 
conceived. The rational inference is, that in the 
dim distance, there looms a revised human being, 
a man possessed of a power to do and capacity to 
enjoy impossible for even the best among us to 
now clearly outline, and to the majority, he has 
not yet appeared upon the horizon of their dreams. 

To the importance of building this larger man, 
through education and the more intense voluntary 
effort, morally pursued, a few have begun to 
awaken. But at the present rate of structural 
speed, the rate pursued by the majority, how much 



can be accomplished in a century? Can the best 
human ideals of today be reached by these in one, 
two, three, or even in a hundred lives like the one 
the majority of men and women are now living? 
Justice to these, then, must give them time to live, 
to fight, to lie, to betray, to steal, and to suffer the 
consequences of all this foolishness, in the interest 
of their awakening. 

Since a one-life theory explains, satisfactorily, 
but few of the facts of life, while a theory of con- 
tinuous personality explains nearly all the facts, 
the latter is by far the more rational of the two. 

Why, on reaching a certain stage of unfoldment, 
do men and women awaken with a tremendous de- 
sire to learn? Why, upon awakening, do they feel 
such a keen sense of regret at the waste of time, 
previous to their awakening? Why do many strive 
so fiercely for attainments that can have no pos- 
sible use in this life, and then gradually cease to 
be interested in these attainments when reached? 

Why desire and find so much need for change; 
why are men driven by suffering to break up habits ; 
why unable to find a resting place? Is not life a 
school rather than a pleasure excursion, and are 
we not being awakened by the conflict and gradu- 
ated from grade to grade ? 

Why so much waste of time in quarrelling over 
trivial matters, why this failure to educationally 

—68— 



arrive at mutual understanding in the interest of 
happiness? If this life begins and ends human 
personalty, the explanation of the present Euro- 
pean struggle is a very difficult matter. 

It can not be that we understand the purpose of 
life, our needed experiences keep ever beyond our 
vision. For a few of the most truly ignorant men 
in the world have been allowed to prepare this 
conflict and set it in motion, at a time when most 
of the world in both intelligence and in feeling are 
evolved beyond such barbarism. 

There is something herefrom, evidently, that the 
world needs to learn; and the lesson seems to be 
the one of elimination of the atavistic type, the pre- 
historic left over; to cast out, the barbarian not 
only from civilization but from ourselves, by educa- 
tion. Many among us need this, for the pomposity, 
of these fiends in human form makes them seem to 
be desirable personages by those who live in moral 
unfoldment on the same plane; and whom nothing 
but suffering can cure. 

For there has been established in the unfolding 
move, a law that eliminates the unfit, a tendency 
that makes injustice, ignorance, tyranny, falsehood, 
destroy themselves, together with their authors. It 
was recorded of old that, "Those whom the Gods 
would destroy, they first made mad." 

Than this madness, what is more evident in the 

—69— 



present conflict? The fiendish responsibles, seem 
to be acting quite as unconscious of their final doom 
as so many entrapped rats. 

Watch the assumed dignity, the pomposity, the 
hatred, the belief of these childish, moral perverts 
with whiskers, in their greatness. 

Should not these have other lives and oppor- 
tunities to improve, to become, some day, actual 
men? 

Is it not evident that all this is taking place 
because needed to make men learn to secure with- 
out such conflict all and far more than this con- 
flict will bring — the larger wisdom, reliability, 
morality ? 

But what about the innocent parties to this strife 
— the young men who have fallen in battle? Are 
these not to have another opportunity of life in 
which to recover damages, or to compensate them 
for the sacrifice they have been driven, by a few 
ignorant men, to make? If not, what becomes of 
your belief in compensative justice? Is life 
fatuous ? 

Is there any directing mind or law back of this 
destructive upheaval? If so, is it human, or cosmic 
and educational? Is there not a beneficient law of 
growth acting through unconscious, human instru- 
mentalities, and in the interest of their enlarged 
capacity and continuous survival? 

—70— 



Could the human race step into a society gov- 
erned by the best ideals of today, what would it do 
with the occupancy — would it not act much like a 
pig in a parlor; in other words, would it not, in 
such a society, raise sufficient hell to fit it to its 
own educational needs? 

For many reasons, this life fails to satisfy me. 
Though I feel that I am slowly improving, there 
is not yet enough of me to satisfactorily, legitimate- 
ly command either myself or my surroundings. 

I see myself here learning rather than enjoying; 
and, out in the distance as a dimly outlined some- 
thing, larger and better. The Superman cannot be 
a figment of the imagination when understood. He 
must be a realizable possibility, and found when 
realized acting within his own sphere of right, in, 
harmonious association with others; each acting 
without conflict of function. 

We are all imprisoned by a limited conscious- 
ness, the tremendousness of time needed to effect 
miracles of progressive change, we fail to grasp. 
Nature's aims and Her resources to achieve Her 
ends are concepts that lie beyond the human vision. 
When understood, there must be in process of for- 
mation, a larger being through human unfoldment. 



-71— 



MUST NOT HUMAN HAPPINESS BE 
EARNED? 

CO the facts of life, then, hold the secret of 
life's purpose? And if so, can they, by a 
rational process, be made to give up some part of 
this secret? 

The contention that the original aim of the 
human life was to give much happiness in this 
life, and would do so now, were it not frustrated 
by human perversity, or conduct intentionally 
wrong, does not seem to be far sustained by the 
facts of life, as we find them. 

Why, if this be true, was not the condition for 
the realization of this aim set up and so firmly 
established as to preclude the external possibility 
of unhappiness, and the human being so made, 
mentally, as to fit into the scheme? 

Rather than punishments for perverse conduct, 
are not our sufferings the pangs of unfoldment? 
Are we not growing larger, are not the combats of 
life serving as a spur to that action which is a 
necessity of growth ? Plainly, we are yet too small 
in understanding to manage the facts of life to the 
end of a happiness having much value. 

As shown above, life seems to be at work on an 
endeavor too ambitious to culminate in this life; 

—73— 



something more remote, greater knowledge, greater 
strength and freedom of will, more reliability, 
greater and higher intensity of feeling; in a word, 
does not life seem to be at work on an increase of 
human power to execute and of capacity to enjoy? 

For, evidently, the percentage of human happi- 
ness realized is, on the whole, increasing; and, 
through the increase of knowledge and a higher 
grade of emotion. 

So far on the evolutionary way, however, life 
yields to most of the human family just enough 
more happiness than misery to keep men and 
women in pursuit of the happiness — not that they 
now realize — but that they hope to realizze; and, 
also, to pause in misery just short of an epidemic 
of suicide. 

Do not these facts contribute something, and 
are there not other contributive facts in abundance 
and ever present, when thoughtfully viewed, to 
show that there is purpose in the move? Do they 
not also furnish a means of predicting much that 
in the not distant future is to come? 

This, though dimly seen by the many, is much 
plainer to the few who have reached in their on- 
ward move, the place of a larger insight or power 
of rational interpretation. 

That prevision, which comes of the ability to 
interpret the meaning of the phenomena or the 

—74— 



facts of life, scientifically, and to predict coming 
events and conditions with considerable accuray, 
seems miraculous to some, and a form of super- 
stition to others who know nothing of the steps 
taken in the process. 

There is comparatively little happiness in the 
world at present, but the possibility of its increase 
furnishes a measure of proof of greater happiness 
to come. Increase of life's conveniences, and of 
capacity to receive and use appreciatively, is a 
fact; and in proportion to this increase is ex- 
perienced a cumulation of happiness brought under 
voluntary control. 

In the means to use and the capacity to appre- 
ciate is hidden the secret of happiness. During 
the unfolding process sufficient contentment is 
vouchsafed — granted to ignorance — not to give 
bliss, as is commonly believed, but to keep it on 
the way ; superlative j oy is the happiness of under- 
standing and can begin only where ignorance ends. 

The method adopted by Nature to increase 
human knowledge in the interest of human happi- 
ness is to coax and bribe men, throng their sense 
pleasures to learn, and in cases where they refuse 
to be coaxed or bribed, a means has been set up 
to drive them to learn. 

To have learned to co-operate with this law of 
increasing capacity without being driven to do so 

—75— 



is to be in possession of the most important in- 
strumentality of use and progress that the ex- 
periences of life have to give. 

Trouble seems to be the effect of refusal to learn, 
and established to prevent laziness, stagnation, and 
atrophy. A gain of intelligence with which to meet 
the new problems of life is required; if we do not 
volunteer to furnish this gain, we are driven to 
supply the need by being made to suffer. 

When it can be clearly seen that few will learn 
during times of happiness; that joyous life (be- 
cause it lacks the spur to action) is not educating — 
the present turmoil of life can be understood. 

The solution, then, of continuous and rapid 
progress, and a fast-growing happiness, must be 
found in voluntary intelligence-gaining, in the art 
of education, of education, properly so-called. 

To the extent that the ability to see the better 
thing ahead is gained is the ability gained, also, to 
make way for its adoption by the voluntary elimi- 
nation of the old and less worthy. 

Could the men in power who have brought about 
the present war, have seen its cause, all of the com- 
paratively little of value that it is to bring could 
have been obtained at but a trifle of cost and with- 
out the sacrifice of a single life. 

It is plain to all that the plans of those who seek 
and find understanding, terminate far more suc- 

—76— 



cess fully and satisfactorily than the plans of those 
who have made no such search and find. 

Life, apparently, offers the opportunity to earn 
happiness, merely; and unhappiness will continue 
so long as, and to the extent that, this opportunity 
is neglected. 

In other words, life seems to be so impulsed and 
environed as to bring just the right amount of hap- 
piness and misery to effect a continuous awakening 
of the consciousness and to arouse the will into in- 
creasing freedom of action. This accomplished to 
the point of voluntary control of action, the im- 
portance of and opportunity for a continuous gain 
of wisdom, and greater strength of will, in the 
interest of human happiness can be readily seen. 

Why weTlo not pause long in life to enjoy much 
of any one thing is because the plan of life re- 
quires an onward move. And we proceed involun- 
tarily ever emerging into something better, reach- 
ing in practice the educational or conscious process 
as rapidly as increase of capacity is realized to be 
the aim or purpose of life. 

Consequently, an indispensable factor of growth 
is that present dreams of happiness — or in the 
words of the poet "Listening to the Salutation of 
The Dawn" — be continuously interrupted by the 
stings of external conditions and the cosmic lure 
and urge within us. For could the dreams of men 

—77— 



come true with little effort, or were their anticipa- 
tions always satisfactorily realized; they would 
pause in sweet content, and move on no more. 

The line of least resistance we call habit, then, 
admits of a comfortable move for a limited time 
only ; established in all men, is a desire for change ; 
and, the tendency of this desire is, and the aim 
seems to be, to prevent habit-slavery from fasten- 
ing itself upon and strangling the life of the in- 
dividual as well as of the human race. 

This desire for change, this unsatisfied longing 
in man that prompts him to seek something new; 
the feeling that does not allow him to let well 
enough alone, is a factor of progress having tre- 
mendous value. 

Progress, in its action is dual — constructive and 
destructive. Habit, being a conservator of effects, 
is chiefly constructive. But since these effects are 
not always progressive effects, or improvements; 
since, also, conservation in all its forms, good or 
bad, tends to produce fixity of structure, immovable- 
ness, habit-using needs intelligent superintending. 

In consequence of its fixing tendency appears the 
necessity, in the interest of progress, of breaking 
habits as well as of making them. 

Not only must bad habits be abandoned, but re- 
pair must take place, revision; new habits and 

—78— 



higher forms must be forever emerging from and 
displacing the older and lower. 

In a practical and educational way the possi- 
bilities herein contained are far from being well 
understood. 

Few have reached the larger understanding of 
how habit may be used to reach the place of a com- 
fortable forward move. Men, on the contrary, live 
in their early-made habit-grooves ; and in their con- 
duct of life, after a certain age, become ever more 
helpless and uncomfortable, and, if not ending life, 
prematurely, they linger on in childishness, being a 
disturbance to all around them. 

Likewise, in their discussions, their reading and 
their religion seeking do we find the majority in a 
static mental condition, unable to improve because 
of their prejudices. And, if in an argument a bul- 
wark of lies seems necessary to defend their views 
they immediately proceed with the building. 

This slavery of prejudice, or mental habit emo- 
tionally manifesting, now the rule of the human 
life; it is not in the law of progress to allow to 
remain permanently in use. 

As, therefore, the sense-controlled and automatic 
actor allows his non-progressive habits to gain 
control, he is as gradually seized with an unrest, 
filled with discomfort, urging a change. 

This urge frequently fails to effect its purpose; 

—79— 



consequently to manage these stubborn cases, a 
more urgent means is found established in the law 
of life, a spur sufficiently sharp to meet the re- 
quirements ; such as sickness, business failure, some 
disaster, some form of suffering, to bring out the 
adequate intensity of feeling to break up old habits 
in the interest of new and progressive building. 

To the meaning and use of habit, in an educa- 
tional way, the world seems to be long in the 
awakening. As a rule, reconstruction, repair, and 
revisions are not planned ahead; habit-ruts are 
abandoned only when the occupant finds them no 
longer tenable. 

Once driven out, however, and readjustment 
effected, the change is usually found to be for the 
better. 

Happiness can be gained only so fast as this 
Cosmic requirement for improvement, or pro- 
gressive change is met. 

For present happiness is derived from what we 
are today as a product of this unfolding change; 
and the greater happiness ahead must be reached 
by the same process. But, if rapid gain is to be 
made it must be purposely instituted — it means a 
better education, greater freedom, access to the 
means to produce better men, better women, bet- 
ter governments, greater inventions and discoveries, 
greater reliability among men — in a word, happi- 

—80— 



ness must be consciously sought along natural lines 
of unfolding capacity — it must be earned. 

The urge is onward. So, in overhauling his life's 
experiences, the progressive man finds few among 
them, even those of the honey-moon sort, that in- 
spire a longing return ; in the sinders of experience, 
but few diamonds are found. And, in history he 
can find that which parallels his own case. 

There is within us all an unsatisfied longing, a 
feeling that somewhere ahead there is far greater 
happiness than any yet found, a feeling that we 
have missed little or nothing in not listening for 
very long to the "Salutation of the Dawn" — this 
feeling has much to do with keeping us on the 
move forward. 

Nature sets men to work with a choice of being 
slaves or free men, and She pays them what they 
earn. But, to paraphrase an old expression, "The 
wage of sin is death," or better to say, the wage 
of error is suffering, of persistent error, death. 

In Nature's storehouse awaits the abundance to 
serve all of the specific needs of men. That the 
panorama of life may be kept moving forward in 
consecutive order, the species must be kept up. 
That this task may not be shirked, Nature entices 
and pays for the service in the glamor of honey- 
moon experience, followed by parental-love. 

For a term, then, we find, as a compensation, 

—81— 



sweethearts buried by their feelings, followed by 
another term of parentage, in which the man and 
the woman are again submerged by their feelings 
in the interest of their children. For these chil- 
dren, in many instances, no task is found to be too 
arduous, no sacrifice too great that has to do with 
their reaching adult age prepared for the battle of 
life. 

But parents are not allowed to stop with having 
placed this service with its lessons behind them; in 
proportion to their further needs, they are obliged 
to take other lessons of experience. Often, there- 
fore, they are awakened from their restful feeling 
of having performed well, by a rude kick from their 
children, a bruise of forgetfulness, if not of un- 
gratefulness or deprivation. 

This occurs, however, you may have noticed, 
much more frequently in the large families of less 
intelligence than in the smaller families where 
greater pains have been taken to cultivate greater 
intelligence. 

Over-breeding and under-educating has a penalty 
attached that, as a rule, parents must pay in suffer- 
ing from neglect of themselves by their children; 
children thrown out into the world in ignorance 
are, usually, all through life, pressed for time, for 
means; and often dulled in sensibility. 

It may well be believed that this experience of 



parents is a needed part of their education; for, 
they must, by suffering be taught to feel; and, also, 
to act more wisely. As a rule, the children of such 
parents are considerably protected from suffering 
by being somewhat oblivious to the suffering which 
they inflict on parents; they act unconsciously and 
instrumentally, rather than intelligently and pur- 
posely. Nor do they, at the time, realize that they, 
too, must pass through about the same experience 
in case they act with equal foolishness. 

Feeling, confined to the family life, being narrow 
and selfish often leads to dishonesty, and occasion- 
ally to crime. It is but a short step on the unfold- 
ing way; consequently, it must make men and 
women suffer in order to arouse in them a feeling 
of larger inclusiveness. 

There seems to be a very great meaning in the 
fact that, though every experience of this life tends 
to enlighten, to enlarge upon and to intensify the 
feelings, no experience seems to give all it should 
give, perfect satisfaction is nowhere found — the 
urge is onward and upward — happiness always 
appears to be just ahead. 

This fact of the imperfection of life's oppor- 
tunities and of the imperfect satisfaction with our- 
selves and with all we do is found in every ex- 
perience of life; it holds true of our books, foods, 
travels, farms and farming, housework, dwelling 



places, climate, neighbors, calls and callers, work, 
government, children, discussions, plans — in fact, 
there is no exception; and the greater the need of 
growth, the greater is the sum of imperfection 
found; of restlessness, of suifering experienced, 
the fault found, and the change sought. 

Have you, reader, (be honest with yourself,) 
ever, during your whole life, had a single ex- 
perience of perfect satisfaction, a flawless diamond 
of emotion? 

We have a right of capacity to experience only 
so much happiness as we have earned. Are not all 
of life's experiences, even the most intense and 
thrilling, accompanied by more or less that is un- 
satisfactory; are they not all shadowed and, just 
at their finish, have they not made you feel to say, 
"Well, is this all there is to that about which I was 
so curious and from which I looked for so much; 
is this where my anticipations end?" 

Or have you reached in wisdom of selective con- 
tacts, and in aliveness, a degree of potency suf- 
ficiently high to give you, in your experiences, flaw- 
less satisfaction? Before you answer, however, 
correct any tendency you may have to over- 
imagine; also, any tendency you may have to lie 
about the matter, to elevate yourself in the estima- 
tion of those to whom you lie. 

Anyhow, this lack of ever being able to obtain 

—84— 



perfect satisfaction keeps us in pursuit of the 
ideal; and, by which we are, also, enticed; this, 
when fully understood, incubates smiles instead of 
tears. 

The lure of anticipation rewards with the pleas- 
ures of pursuit, while realization brings with it, the 
more intense and satisfactory feeling of accomp- 
lishment and possession; neither, however, brings 
perfect satisfaction; this incompleteness seems to 
show, that neither is more than instrumental — that 
they are but means, serving on the way to some- 
thing larger. 

Decline of interest in possession and increasing 
desire for something new and better — for change, 
for new expression — this unsatisfied longing is one 
of the most significant and important facts of life ; 
this and being driven by necessity, are the two 
facts which make individual, as well as social pro- 
gress possible. 

By the one we are all kept reaching for improve- 
ment, and by the other we are driven to improve; 
each step of this move is taken with but little 
understanding, and with partial rather than with 
complete success. 

In all ages men who have bewailingly expressed 
the way they have been impressed by this fact of 
striving and obtaining objects of ambition only 
soon to begin losing interest in these objects after 

—85-— 



having secured them, are those who see herein no 
larger meaning. 

He, it would seem evident, has but a superficial 
understanding of life's purpose, who sees in the 
imperfections of life's appurtenances, and in an- 
ticipation or the lure of life, only illusion; who 
finds in this decline of interest which nearly always 
follows possession, only matter for complaint; the 
person in whose mind "familiarity breeds con- 
tempt" has failed, we think, to visualize the upward 
move of life. 

For is there not, even in human conduct, about 
all at this stage of life that could be rationally 
looked for; and, much more of the admirable than 
of the contemptible? This incompleteness found 
in Nature, and that a short sight views with sus- 
picion, is a prime necessity of progress, it is the 
open door to improving change. 

That familiarity, then, which amounts to under- 
standing of matters of life, form and motion, breeds 
in all a feeling of gladness, a feeling, which as a 
greater insight of wisdom is gained, a deeper 
knowledge of the arrangement to store and hold 
the products of conduct, in the form of character, 
enlarged capacity to do and to enjoy, is sighted, 
ripens into a much larger and more intense feeling. 

Thus equipped then, on becoming familiar with 
lower orders of human conduct we are able to see 

— 8&— 



that the contemptible herein is due far more to lack 
of intelligence than to evil intent, or, it may be 
said, that evil intent is due to a lack of intelligence. 

Men and women are seldom as guilty as they 
seem, for they are less wise than they seem. They 
do wrong; but, often unconsciously; that which 
they do, knowing it to be wrong, they feel to do 
with an intensity which they are not yet sufficiently 
strong in will to resist. 

It is impossible for any human being to appre- 
ciatively accept of and use that which he yet lacks 
the capacity to understand. Consequently, many 
are found rejecting opportunities to improve or 
abusing offers of advice, friendships and other mat- 
ters too large for their capacity to admit to appre- 
ciative service. 

The too-large is always rejected, often with con- 
tempt, and the capacity better fitted with something 
smaller, or a lower order of things, life, and action. 
Whatever the seeming on the surface of things may 
be, it is highly probable that we all become in- 
terested in, and pursue next things in the order of 
our unfoldment. Are not the lessons of life best 
taught by experiences of just the right size to meet 
the requirements of next steps in the earning of a 
larger wisdom and its consequent happiness? 

For, while a lesson is in progress, there is usually 
found forming within the mind of the learner a new 



desire, a larger ideal, one that nothing but a new, 
a larger, a more ambitious undertaking of exper- 
ience will satisfy; and it may be necessary that it 
involve great suffering and apparent failure. 

This decline of interest in objects of pursuit; 
that, as a rule, begins to take place soon after 
these objects are secured, is undoubtedly due to the 
fact that in no case is the thing secured or made, 
the end. There is an ever present imperfection of 
human conduct, and of structure ; few, even, if any, 
ever find what they do, or say, or make, quite satis- 
factory. 

In all cases, even where men have done their 
best and well, they see in their finished work, im- 
perfections. The fact of the matter is, they are 
taught by their work; and, knowing more at the 
finish than at the start, they see in their finished 
production imperfections that few others are able 
to see — their insight and foresight or sphere of 
voluntary control has been enlarged. 

So it is with word and deed, with things made, 
with acts confined to self, and with the conduct of 
life toward others. The thing learned, in any 
given case, is of much more importance than the 
particular thing of use secured by the specific per- 
formance; in fact, the lesson learned and filed for 
future use is the real object of all structure, speech 
and conduct; if life, as it seems, is engaged in 



building the larger man of the larger capacity for 
happiness. 

So, the correction of mistakes gives a new in- 
terest and a new lesson. The builder may be able 
to revise or to improve the old with a change of 
parts or he may be obliged (it may be cheaper) to 
build entirely anew, in either machinery or conduct. 

If the knowledge of the individual is cumulative, 
so, also, is his power of progress — that is, the more 
a man learns, the faster can he learn — the learning 
of the ignorant person, his getting a start, is a slow 
and laborious process. (It must have taken, ages, 
nearly countless to evolve an alphabet, take note 
of its power today.) 

Hence, in the interest of their awakening, men 
of little intelligence are driven from that which is 
plentiful, easy of access (and to this extent fa- 
miliar) by lack of appreciation, indifference, a bad 
temper, j ealousy, or even contempt, the feeling that 
nothing is worth while, perhaps. 

He who must be educated by experience, almost 
unaided, must be driven to change and to repeat his 
lesson often ; he must be torn by his emotions, have 
sharp reverses, and suffer tremendously therefrom, 
in order to reach the place in his upward growth 
where he can control his feelings, see opportunities, 
and feel the need of improvement with sufficient 

—89— 



keenness to act morally and educate himself con- 
sciously. 

This same thing holds true of Nations. This 
present world conflict will arouse men to break 
through into that co-operative, structural and 
moral action which they could not have reached 
without this war — and because they were not far 
enough along. This lack of understanding ex- 
plains, largely, why the majority of employes hate 
and lie about their employers, and in the belief that 
they are the competent ones. 

It also explains why the prodigal youth must 
leave his home. In the case of the youth — unless 
he happens to be the occasional one of large mental 
calibre, and finds his home too narrow and non- 
progressive to serve his ends — familiarity without 
understanding creates in his mind a feeling of in- 
difference; perhaps, nausea, contempt; to him, home 
may seem to be old fashioned. By this feeling he 
is driven far away and into other and more needed 
experiences ! Before, therefore, he can return from 
his prodigal trip with open eyes of understanding, 
he must, in other fields, have learned through ex- 
periences of suffering. 

Ignorant, gossipy, lying, country neighborhoods 
are thus (in the interest of their awakening) ex- 
plained; few, if any, of the inhabitants ever under- 
stand that by which, and those by whom they are 

—90— 



surrounded. We find here, men and things of large 
value are always under-estimated, and equals quar- 
reling over the most trifling matters. 

If there happens to be one among them showing 
himself to be a trifle wiser than the rest, instead of 
being understood and held among them, he is dis- 
liked, viewed with jealousy or as a freak, lied about, 
and driven to flee to the city where he will be less 
familiarly known, but better understood, appre- 
ciated, and rise nearer to his true value. 

In communities where ignorance reigns supreme, 
men and women take offense at trifles; and once 
offended, they proceed to cherish a bitter, revenge- 
ful, hatred; such constitute a dangerous class — the 
country school teacher will understand — it is due 
to narrow living, narrow reading, and narrow 
thinking. 

He who finds himself living in a country neigh- 
borhood not of this kind is to be congratulated. 

It holds particularly true of the little informed 
that they look far away for green fields; they find 
their greatest enchantment in dead and distant men 
and distant views. Having little understanding of 
anything, they must fail to behold the greater 
among the near things; consequently, that famil- 
iarity with things of their environment, in which 
there is no understanding, calls out their contempt 
of the best herein, instead of their appreciation. 

—91— 



Their near and familiar, therefore, may as well 
be, or had better be, perhaps, made up of the 
mediocre; for, they have not yet earned the right 
of capacity to see, to feel, to use, and to enjoy, 
the greater of the privileges of life. 

In consequence hereof — because they, instead of 
being able to use, abuse that which lies beyond 
their understanding — are usually held at arms' 
length by the few who understand them. 

Communities in which the average of mental and 
moral capacity is small are always in a turmoil. 

They manage, however, to keep on living and 
doing, for the compunctionless ease with which they 
can meet lie with lie, gives them a reasonable com- 
fort of life in an environment where men and 
women of larger mental and moral capacity would 
very soon perish. 

And when this is seen as a process of supplying 
storage battery needs, is the evolution of under- 
standing and appreciation of people, places and 
things, our pessimism vanishes — for, by their con- 
duct, they are planting and harvesting what they 
now need, and they will lie less, perform better, 
and supply themselves better later on. 

If human growth means individualization, if the 
way is evolutionary, and through repeated embodi- 
ments, there are, undoubtedly, some of these lives 

—92— 



in which but little is learned, while there are others 
in which much is learned. 

Education is a rapid process of evolution, of 
voluntary unfoldment. 

The move of progress has always been most 
rapid in the great and thickly populated centers ; 
here there is more of the spur of personal contact, 
rivalry, competition, than in sparsely populated 
districts; more new ideals break through into ex- 
pression and become educationally suggestive, there 
have always been, and to some extent there are 
now, better schools, better libraries. 

But, as to the benefit derived therefrom, though 
the number is increasing, there are yet compara- 
tively few sufficiently awakened to extract high 
value. The many, instead of making helpful use 
of their city environment, pick up its self-destruc- 
tive fads and vices as a chicken picks up worms. 

However, there are many who fear, and this fear 
of the opinions of others is morally bracing; it 
bridles the tongue, narrows bad conduct, puts on a 
clean collar, drives to the bathtub, cleans up the 
front yard, and makes men and women tolerable 
long before they are tolerant. 

In our ignorance we all flit from one drastic ex- 
perience to another, learning a trifle from each. 
The dog and his master are individuals, but travel- 
ing in company, each receives a very different edu- 



cational product for his experience; each takes up 
to the limits of his capacity. But so it is with 
men and women who travel; the amount taken on 
the way is proportioned to the capacity to take; a 
capacity determined by previously acquired know- 
ledge. 

The way men view and use themselves and their 
surroundings, then, is a very accurate measure of 
their calibre. 

The cynic, the sneering pessimist, the man with 
a "chip on his shoulder" and ever ready to fight all 
opinions other than the narrow ones of his own 
education, has not yet evolved beyond the "fool" 
stage. 

He whom you find with the tear filled eyes of 
self-pity, you will also, as a rule, find to be a 
growling failure; a failure that is quite as much 
due to the errors and dishonesties of his own life, 
as to the dishonesties of the men, institutions, and 
systems to which he attributes them. 

Such men and women, have not yet sighted the 
unfolding law of life or rebuilding change; they 
have not yet learned to use this variety of life in 
their own building. 

In the law of life a requirement is found estab- 
lished, living has a price to pay, and he who, in 
the belief that the world owes him a living, thinks 

—94— 



he can shirk paying the price, ere long, finds him- 
self in trouble, for life is not fatuous. 

Unawakened men and women are far too prone 
to attribute their poverty and the other troubles 
and failures of their lives — due to their own waste 
and laziness — to the dishonesty of others. 

Their "stock" argument is "You cannot win with 
honesty," when, as a matter of fact, you cannot 
win without honesty. 

Success, worth the having, is never won by dis- 
honest methods, and success of no kind can be won 
by ignorance. 

True success must be won through understand- 
ing; it must be achieved through honest work, 
economy, self-denial, a tearless firmness. 

Spending wastefully, many believe, is living — 
this is a modern mistake that leads to innumerable 
failures of life. 

Nature, evidently, is trying to make something 
larger of us all and She is as kind as possible in 
doing that which must be done, in order to meet the 
requirements of this aim. 

Reaching the place of wise and deliberate con- 
duct of life is a matter of slow unfoldment; unless, 
set about with deliberate educational effort to 
achieve this particular end. There is a penalty at- 
tached to prodigal use on the one hand and to 

—95— 



miserliness on the other, and all meet their needed 
discipline of life. 

So the reader need not imagine that his troubles 
are so much greater than the troubles of most 
others. Many a trouble is hidden beneath a smiling 
face ; troubled ones dislike to expose their own mis- 
takes and foolishness, consequently they conceal 
their troubles and fight it out largely alone. Lack 
of sympathy has its value; it puts "pep" into the 
character, stiffens the backbone, gives stamina, vim, 
snap, and mastery. 

This program of the human life does not allow 
the man of millions to shirk and escape his ex- 
periences of suffering, any more than it does the 
man of poverty — experience may differ while lead- 
ing, evidently, to nearly the same goal. 

The rich no less than the poor have their edu- 
cating experiences of life. Both will obtain more 
from experience and its discipline, when they have 
learned more of the futility and unmanliness of 
complaint ; learned to waste less time weeping over 
their needed lessons, to spend less time and money 
fighting and more in educating. 

The man of millions earns the right to be happy, 
only so fast and so far as he learns the nature of 
what he holds ; learns that it is considerably in the 
nature of a loan or trust; and, to be used, beyond 
his own needs helpfully for others; not to exploit 

—96— 



and take advantage of others, neither to take away 
their experiences. 

So, too, must the poor man earn the capacity to 
enjoy, the right to be happy, by being true to that 
with which he has been entrusted. 

Nature's favorites are very largely in the seem- 
ing; all men are rebuked with more or less suffer- 
ing for neglecting their opportunities ; also for the 
privileges granted them and which they proceed to 
abuse; the wealthy man for his efforts to monopo- 
lize and exploit, the poor man for his self-neglect, 
dishonesty, and tears of self-pity. 

Each may find in life the experiences fitted to 
his needs. When it is seen that even the man in 
the penitentiary finds his solacing compensations, 
pity makes way for and admits understanding, for 
there comes a time when decaying parts must be 
cast aside. 

But in order to act wisely, we all seem obliged 
first to act foolishly. The making, or earning of a 
thing, brings the capacity to understand, to appre- 
ciate, to use and to enj oy the thing. 

To the extent that something for nothing is ob- 
tained — like sudden prosperity, an unearned for- 
tune, wages half earned, stealings — is the recipient 
thereof made prodigal and to suffer. 

Many are. found in life too timid to claim their 
own; others, the selfish and the egotistical, the 



bully types, as greatly overestimate themselves; 
and, the value in the world of their service to 
others. 

Consequently to assist timid persons with words 
of truth and encouragement, to awaken them to a 
realization of their true value, is legitimate, and to 
check the predations of the bully, a duty. But to 
praise persons of small calibre, flatteringly, to 
boost, to pay them more than they earn, to trust 
them, to treat them with a kind consideration be- 
yond their deserts and understanding, usually leads 
them into an over-estimate of themselves, and often, 
also, to abuse the kindness; sometimes, to become 
an enemy of the person who bestows the gifts. 
Parents having an only son or daughter are fre- 
quently guilty or this error. 

Right use is learned through wrong us or abuse. 

In all departments of life, opportunities are 
found to observe the swagger of ignorance in the 
event of prosperity. It seems a very difficult thing 
for most men, on discovering something of their 
own power, to hold back the snob in themselves. 

To obtain the means of considerable independ- 
ence is of very great importance in this life, if used, 
as it very often is not used, in the interest of self- 
improvement and in other legitimate ways. 

For the discovery of one's ability to secure some 
independence, means the discovery of a new power, 

—98— 



in the use of which the swell of the head needs 
watching — and, this same danger of abuse lurks in 
the use of any power which one may discover in 
himself. 

Poverty is seldom a praiseworthy condition, and 
it is always inconvenient; it is never an evidence 
of wisdom; it may mean lack of opportunity, but 
often it means laziness and extravagance, frequent- 
ly the unwisdom of the gambler ; or dishonesty, and 
in spite of all the pretty things men have said in 
praise thereof, it is simply an evidence of some 
great lack or wrong. 

Nor, on the other hand, are great possessions 
praiseworthy, unless obtained by honest means, 
used without ostentation, and in fairness. The 
ideal of wise and honest men, in the sense of all 
having all they can use comfortably, without the 
two extremes of poverty and riches, will arrive the 
moment a majority have grown sufficiently wise 
and honest to deserve to have, by living this ideal. 

Toward this dream, or distant picture, men are 
moving slowly; and they are moving slowly because 
they are moving with but little of either intelligence 
or of honesty. 

Do not imagine then, that this tremendous strug- 
gle in which the world is now engaged, is a mistake ; 
it seems, at least, to be the only means of education 
that can, at this stage of human wwawakeness, 



be successfully employed. The fleecing of men 
awakens them to the use of their means of self- 
protection and teaches them to feel respect for the 
rights of others. But so long as they act on the 
belief in a brutal fitness to survive as being the 
best, they will live in a world of brutal conduct. 

If the majority reap comparatively little benefit 
from present gain of progress, who have they to 
blame but themselves? For their deprivation is 
due to a system which they in their waste of means 
and spare time, self-indulged laziness, and there- 
fore ignorance, allow to persist while they are de- 
luged with abundance of information, which if 
heeded, learned and used, would enable them to 
install a system in which no tyranny, slavery and 
poverty could exist. 

This system is in process of evolution and means 
one to be; one not of ever greater compulsion, but 
of ever greater individual independence of action. 
When a man has become wise he has reached re- 
liability. When all men become sufficiently wise, 
all will be reliable, all free, all rich. 

The evident intent, then, of this struggle of life, 
is to awaken, to forge out the freedom of a more 
distinctly marked individuality, character of a 
higher class — and, to the end of a more remote 
happiness. Every social system — monopolistic, 
monarchial, or socialistic — then, that interfere with 



individual rights, with freedom to compete, will be 
found wanting; and ultimately cast off with the 
tremendous suffering of all concerned. 

In the proportion that the laws of life come to 
be understood, the events of life's move looked for- 
ward to as opportunities and (in the order of their 
appearance) intelligently acted upon, will there 
come a rapid move forward, harmony of action 
creep in and its resultant happiness come to prevail. 
But for some time to come this building must take 
place largely behind the scenes of life. 

Self-reliance is a matter of great importance; 
there is plenty in life to make of us social beings 
while learning to do for ourselves that which we 
now employ high priced quacks to do for us. The 
social strength of the individual follows as a result 
of his individual strength. 

Wisdom will remove the necessity for lawsuits, 
great doctor's bills, failures, religious revivals, 
prisons, police, war, and the tendency to suicide. 
Wisdom, if considerable, can manage the contemp- 
tible conduct found in most country villages, even. 

In this way, feeling, attachment, detachment, 
and reattachment run through all life; and its 
evident purpose is an educational one, the learning 
of lessons through many experiences — it is the 
push and the pull of progress. 

This feeling of enough of a thing is one of the 



very important iconoclastic impulses in Nature; this 
desire for something new — for change, is the feel- 
ing that makes possible construction and recon- 
struction in all the forms of life's expression. Ex- 
cept for this fact, life could not break away from 
the line of least resistance specifically as seen in 
the bondage of habit, of prejudice and of dogma, 
and go on with better and higher building — to the 
end of a higher happiness. 



—102- 



THE COSMIC URGE WITHIN US 

GAN these philosophies of life, then, that ad- 
vocate the retirement of the individual from 
the broad highways of conflict to the secluded by- 
ways of life be of the wisest; if so, why are things 
as we find them? 

In spite of our theories, few of us retire in peace 
and comfort to the Walden Ponds of life. Is not 
this fact explained by recognizing that there has 
been implanted a lure within us all, and within our 
surroundings an urge that is much wiser than the 
philosophy of Thoreau, a proclivity here, and a 
necessity there, that will not allow us to retire? 

To this end, note the difficulty with which a ma- 
tured young man is kept on the farm; he is drawn 
by an irresistible desire into the strenuous life, en- 
ticed into the maelstrom of the street, forced into 
the bustling current ; he feels that he must take part 
in its turmoil and its strife; that he must step into 
the struggle where rapid change takes place; and 
gladly does he exchange his palling, deadening, 
changeless contact for variety and rapid motion, 
even though this may tire, worry, and bring dis- 
aster. 

Here he may not live as long but he lives more 
intensively while he does live. Man is a social 



being impelled to seek unfoldment in the pleasures 
and tortures of personal contact, to seek the ex- 
periences that evolve the better physical, mental 
and moral man. 

Freedom and comfort of social action appears as 
fast as men reach mutual understanding through a 
knowledge of facts learned and held in common, 
and no other one factor of progress has served so 
largely to effect this end as the printing press. 

Those who deny that present civilization is of a 
more highly evolved grade than any of those by 
which it has been preceded, lack that, we believe, 
which enables men to measure civilization values; 
if in possession of the facts of history, they lack 
the ability to interpret the meaning of these facts. 

The superiority of our own, over the civilizations 
which have come and gone, is chiefly due to the 
printing press. To this wonderful disseminator of 
knowledge is due the fact that a citizen in the storm 
and bustle of today has an opportunity to live more 
and learn more in one year, than a citizen in the 
days of Ancient Rome could live and learn in two, 
possibly five years. 

Through the printing press men have already 
reached a large measure of intelligence, of mutual 
understanding, and freedom of group action; and 
with its better use they are to reach far more — we 
are but at the beginning. 

—104— 



With the printing press, as an instrumentality 
through which to gain intelligence and mutual un- 
derstanding within and among large competing 
groups, it is very doubtful if ever again any one 
group of religious fanatics or monopolistic rascals, 
if any nation led by a half insane bunch of bullying 
egotists, can arise, sufficiently large in number, in- 
tensity of belief and power, to dominate the world 
and plunge it into a darkness such as it passed 
through during the Middle Ages ; even though there 
is yet a strong tendency in this direction, that must 
be watched continuously and fought back. 

The printing press has a great work before it, 
so has education. 

The very evident object of the experiences of 
this life is to teach lessons; the more men are 
driven to learn the faster do they volunteer to 
learn. 

Rather than to recline during the day in some 
protected nook, then, it is better to return home at 
night with something having been accomplished; 
and, if necessary, tired and with a headache. 

The chief thing that needs to be learned is the 
why of being tired, of this headache, this lawsuit, 
this sickness. Investigation usually discovers the 
cause in some form of dissipation, some lack of self- 
control; some ignorance in eating, perhaps; in 
drinking, in thinking, some lack of breathing, un- 



wise acting, some form of dishonesty, of ignorance 
or of foolishness, which we should aim to correct 
on the morrow, and step forth on the day following 
somewhat better informed and self-controlled. 

If you, reader, happen to be laboring under the 
influence of some of these semi-truthful "back-to- 
Nature" philosophies and, therefore, are blaming 
yourself for remaining in this bustle of life, you 
will, if you pause for a moment to think, and think- 
ing, try to realize what you are actually doing, the 
thing you are most likely to discover is an urge and 
a need within you calling for a much wiser conduct 
of life than this negative philosophy of "back-to- 
Nature". 

This active life is ours; what we need is not 
retirement — but sufficient intelligence to demand 
the opportunity to act, and while in action, to cul- 
tivate the ability to use opportunity more fully, 
honestly, wisely, and comfortably. 

Why is it that men and women often turn back 
to the superstitions of their childhood in religion 
when they become old and good for but little or 
when suffering from an attack of indigestion? 

Is it not because they have failed to learn what 
they must some day learn? By having acquired 
fixed habits and loaded themselves with dead mat- 
ter, they have lost their power, to make energy, and 
improve — in consequence hereof, they are getting 



through with life by slow suicide. Is this dream 
of perpetual youth an illusion; or, the beckoning 
of a realizable ideal? Few, in this life, learn half 
what they might learn, and what men will some day 
come to learn in a longer and better single life. To 
become more fully conscious of life's purpose is to 
keep more closely in pursuit of improving ideals. 

Life is a process of unfoldment; discoveries and 
inventions, break in upon the consciousness through 
life's contacts and make trouble while their use is 
being gradually learned? 

So is it found to be with ideals; because every 
act is preceded by an idea, even in learning a trade, 
a knowledge of what to do most precede the doing. 

In education, theory precedes practice, and the 
better the theory is learned, the more wisely con- 
ducted will be the practice that follows. 

The way to all human achievement is pioneered 
by an idea, consequently no man can ever express 
his thoughts quite as well as he can think them. 

An ideal, then, is the lure of the pioneering mind ; 
it is a picture that breaks in upon the consciousness 
or is set up by that mental power which makes 
progress possible. 

Hence it apepars as a forerunner, not as a reali- 
zation, but, something to practice reaching for — a 
lure to keep up human interest. 

The realizations of today were once ideals, the 



hopes of remote yesterdays ; the ideals of today are 
the possible realizations of some remote or near to- 
morrow. 

An ideal may be an unpainted picture, a song 
unsung, an unachieved ambition, a prospective 
gold-mine, an imaginary invention, a mental image, 
an unincarnated idea, an unexpressed thought, a 
better society, a better self, each of which, from 
the day of its inception in the mind to the day of 
its birth in materialized form, keeps clamoring for 
expression. 

But the march of ideals, or improving change, 
though taking place at an accelerated rate of speed 
is still a slow process when compared with what it 
will, in all probability, become in a not very remote 
tomorrow, when ideal forming has become the more 
particular concern of education. 

Through this uproar and expensive conflict car- 
ried on between those who desire change and those 
who are opposed to change — both sides, largely 
ignorant of the right thing to do — the best among 
men, women, and ideals of today are denied normal 
expression. 

Nature effects her wonders of improving change 
through a process of continuous re-construction, a 
simultaneous move of construction and destruction 
that, without creating more disturbance than the 
birth pangs of growth, leaves behind it a product 

—108— 



of improvement to show for its effort. This fact 
already learned, men are neither wise enough nor 
honest enough to adopt in education. 

But, from the moment of its adoption, by refus- 
ing to fix upon themselves, or allowing to be fixed 
upon them, rigid forms of conservatism that must 
be broken up and cast aside all at one time by some 
murderous conflict; they will be quietly, comfort- 
ably and happily progressive. 

So, in time will man, as an individual, learn bet- 
ter than to destroy himself physically, intellectual- 
ly, morally, and spiritually with prejudices and 
other habits that can not be cast aside. 

But not yet; the arrival of natural methods in 
education lies some distance in the future ; warf ore, 
turmoil, and suffering, must serve its allotted time 
in making of men, as educational factors what pro- 
gress has in view. 

Failing to understand that their suffering is due 
to Nature's effort to awaken them to their pos- 
sibility of inexpensive and comfortable improve- 
ment, many become pessimists and gravitate into 
groups of so-called reformers. For the most part, 
we find these performing with but little intelli- 
gence; as the great army of weeping sentimen- 
talists, and, also, others of the loud, denouncing, 
screaming, destructive sort, performing blindly. On 
the other hand, the same lack of understanding ex- 



plains the conduct of the smaller company, made 
up of a stubborn selfishness, the monopolistic, bully 
types of men. 

The existence of the two sides to every question 
will some day be recognized in practice; for, to 
see but one side brings conflict, conflict suffering, 
suffering greater wisdom, greater honesty, more 
reliability; it weakens prejudice, stimulates right 
thought and allays the greed and fighting passions 
of men — all this in needed. 

Education is now struggling through its early 
stages ; knowing but little of what science and 
history have to give as a warning; or of what Po- 
litical Economy has to offer as a way out into har- 
monious community, national, and international 
action, both sides to this great fight are acting in 
the darkness. 

Warfare is tremendously expensive, for it is 
ignorance, greed and dishonesty in action. But, it 
is at the same time self-destructive and with it must 
go the other lies of life; splendid ideals, therefore, 
are herefrom to find their way into life and action. 

Reform is made to appear a slow process by the 
rapid march of our ideals. 

It is impossible to realize how rapidly the speed 
of progress is increasing without being able to look 
back through history over the toilsome and wreck 
strewn pathway of all the bettering change pre- 



vious to our time. And without a knowledge of 
political economy, it is impossible to realize how 
slowly we are improving when compared with the 
speed that might be reached with sufficient knowl- 
edge of political economy to enable men to act as 
a unit without fighting. 

An equipment of both the above would serve as 
an excellent nerve tonic for impatient, would-be, 
reformers ; it would tend very greatly to make them 
wise and more comfortable in their reform moves. 
For, to understand about how rapidly we may hope 
for improvement to come, and what must be met 
and overcome to facilitate the move is of indis- 
pensable importance. Without having yet learned 
its use, this generation holds in its educational 
storehouse all of importance that has been gained 
during the ages left behind us, and in ground rent 
the funds of its applicaton, which it now allows to 
flow into private pocket to create disturbance. 

It takes time. Increase of the mental horizon is 
reaching an ever greater number, but mental change 
has always waited, and must still wait for physical 
readjustments to meet its requirements; practice 
cannot and should not keep pace with theory — the 
real cannot overtake the ideal. 

Nature educates through warfare, but she edu- 
cates, also, through symbols, through experience, 
silently, slowly, but effectively. She uses a Ian- 



guage and a method of Her own. Her instruction 
is telegraphic, wireless, by suggestion, and over 
nerve lines — this will come to be better understood. 
To the degree that men approach right action do 
they find comfort; to the degree of their departure 
therefrom or to the extent of their wrong action 
do they meet with discomfort. 

When viewed from the surface, these two effects 
of action, the good and the bad, seem to be reward 
and punishment, in the human sense of understand- 
ing. However, to view these as the effects of the 
unfolding process, as Nature's way of making 
known Her educational intent or plan, through 
feeling — comfort and discomfort — we think, is a 
far more rational interpretation of the meaning of 
the effects of action; and is in the nature of a de- 
mand that accompanies all life. 

For, he who fails to provide himself with the 
specific demands of life — with food, with clothing, 
with a place to sleep, with friends, with amuse- 
ment, with a pursuit, with information, with a 
strengthened will, with toleration, with honesty, 
reliability, justice, with self-control, with a variety 
of things to enjoy and even with things of am- 
bitious endeavor, finds himself in a very much 
worse dilemma than when he works to provide 
these. Earnest, honest endeavor certainly brings, 
—112— 



on the whole, a greater enjoyment of life than is 
ever reached by the shirk. 

Whether rich or poor, living requires action from 
all. In time all are driven to learn that even when 
acting up to their best, the end of each finished 
piece of work, or specific conquest is reached with 
a feeling of considerable comfort, that consists of 
about two- thirds satisfaction and one-third of dis- 
appointment; while failure to live up to the best 
adds embarrassment to disappointment; and often 
an entailment of suffering. 

In his belief that he is the victim of "hard luck" 
we find the lazy man with tears of self-pity trying 
to obtain help from some worker; and who, because 
he finds it difficult to be honest, does not mind get- 
ting it for nothing. Nearly every man of action, 
of thrift, and of generous impulse knows the lazy 
man by having tried to help him and in return for 
his generosity meeting with not only loss but often 
with ingratitude, entire lack of appreciation, and in 
some cases, with treatment of a still meaner kind, 
particularly in case assistance has been rendered 
in a charitable way. 

Of course, much of the poverty in the world and 
most dishonesty may be traced to bad economic 
conditions, but they can be traced to a cause more 
remote than bad economic conditions — to the one 
of ignorance. The majority of those in need are 

—113— 



shirks — they are too lazy either to learn or to 
earn, and too unwise and extravagant to save for 
an emergency. 

The rebuking experience of the man who comes 
to the rescue seems to argue very strongly that he 
has broken a natural law and that this rebuke is 
the natural penalty. 

There are social problems, but there are, alse 
individual problems; consisting of self-improve- 
ment and self-support. There is a sphere, within 
which, each must work things out for himself, for 
the law of life's action and growth is such that no 
one can appreciate that for which he puts forth 
no effort. 

Nature has so constituted and environed man 
that he can and must act; and, evidently, till such 
time as action becomes a pleasure, since refusal is 
invariably met with some form of rebuke. The 
reward of work is growth and enjoyment; by an 
effort of the will directed by reason, laziness can 
be overcome. 

Work may be viewed as a privilege; so, he who 
does for another that which Nature planned for 
this other to do for himself, breaks a natural law 
involving the payment of a penalty which, as noted 
above, cannot be shirked. 

He who selects to act as his brothers' keeper 
fails to understand the law of life and action. In 

—114— 



any community where some men need to act as 
keepers of other men, this need can usually be 
traced back to some deprivation. Nature says to 
us all, "Hands off thy brother! I am his better 
keeper! If your brother needs you as his keeper, 
it is most likely only because of some wrong having 
been committed — is because he has been despoiled 
by either you or others; allow him a chance and I 
will attend to his laziness. Except in self-protec- 
tion against his aggressions, hands off thy brother 
and his belongings, or the penalty is yours !" 

Any individual may legitimately offer informa- 
tion to another; advice, when called called for, 
suggestion, or education, but to go farther in dic- 
tating the use of all this, means trouble for the 
dictator. 

For a very good reason Nature rebukes the 
meddler; our charities and most of our well meant 
gifts are shown to be wrong by a lack of apprecia- 
tion and even by the resentment of those upon 
whom we try to impose them. 

To do a brother's work for him, to give him that 
which will enable him to shirk the best gifts of life, 
his work lessons, tends to injure both parties to the 
transaction. 

Prodigal sons are cultivated; they are the petted, 
pampered, neglected and spoiled sons; they are 
sepndthrifts, because they have not been taught 



thrift, appreciation of means with work and 
thought — economy. Dwellers of the tropics are 
Nature's prodigals reserved for the inspection and 
enlightenment of those who, when given effects, 
can find the cause. 

Whatever supplies the needs of men without 
work, before they have learned to like work, what- 
ever enables them to shirk the natural consequences 
of their acts, deprives them of their indispensible 
educational discipline of life. 

Hence, reformatory prohibitions, coercions, sup- 
pressions, and charities fail in their aim — they are 
wrong in principle, and are made to seem right 
only because of the existence of great injustice in 
the world. 

Charity is made necessary by laziness and ig- 
norance on the one hand, and on the other hand by 
the dishonest, monopolistic, exploiters of men who 
operate beyond the short, dust-dimmed sight of 
those whom they despoil. 

Despoilation would be impossible if the majority 
of men knew enough political economy to under- 
stand so simple a thing as what it is that makes 
rental value. This once understood, the greed of 
comparatively few men could not deprive the mil- 
lions of their means of education, opportunity for 
action, and legitimate expression of life. But they 
can not rise above the prejudices of the false edu- 



cation imposed upon them by their exploiters. 
However, is not this blindness of men serving a 
great chastening purpose in the interest of their 
education ? 

Life's expression is of two kinds — individual and 
social. As an individual, you have a natural right 
to advise your brother but not to coerce him. So 
long as he remains sane and his conduct affects 
none but himself, you have no moral right to re- 
strain him from acting as seems to him best, even 
to the extent of making what you call a "fool" of 
himself, for this is the way he learns. 

Rebellion is the product of some form of frustra- 
tion, such as prohibition, coercion, suppressed ac- 
tion of individual wills, injustice; of such laws and 
their administration as strengthen in men that 
which they aim to weaken. A brother deprived of 
his right to keep himself becomes a rebel and in 
the eyes of a large body of sympathizing friends, 
a martyr; consequently, he may become a rebel 
leader. In cases where charity does not arouse 
resentment in the individual it tends further to 
weaken or to destroy his last spark of ambition 
and self-respect. 

The complaint, even, of the faithful son tends to 
make the prodigal son appear to the unthinking to 
be a victim of wrong; thus winning for him a wide 
circle of sympathizers who, on his return, slaughter 

—117— 



the "fatted calf"; for the many are prodigal. Un- 
like the faithful son whose superiority offends it, 
the prodigal element affiliates on a lower plane of 
life, near the stench and the tumult of the ebbing 
and flowing tide. 

Progress sanctions, requires even, the restraint 
of conduct on the part of some that deprives others 
of their legitimate freedom to act. There will be 
no more wars when men have learned to practice 
sufficient restraint to act reliably; each remaining 
within his own individual sphere of right — it is ob- 
structive meddling that destroys happiness. 

This same thing holds true in the matter of in- 
formation giving; information, including advice, is 
much more apt to be taken when offered in the form 
of suggestion than when forced upon us. 

Nature has set up in her law of progress an 
endeavor to protect the unf oldment of individuality 
by instituting in the individual a feeling that makes 
him resent the arbitrary commands, that would, if 
complied with, prevent the free action of his will. 

Consequently, most attempts to manage the af- 
fairs of others meet with rebuke. If we respect 
the democracy of the horse, his right to select for 
himself; in his decision, when, on being led to 
water, he refuses to drink, why do we so often 
refuse to pay the same respect to our fellow man? 

The law of independent action provides for the 

—118— 



unfoldment of individuality and is the most funda- 
mental law of education. 

The mind of the child should, therefore, be led 
out by suggestion — not driven out, not lifted or 
carried out, but stirred into sufficient wakefulness 
to improve by its own efforts. 

This freedom to act needs careful guarding. 
Consequently, dogamtic education, coercions, pro- 
hibitions are wrong in principle; they are resented 
by the average person and rejected by all those 
equipped with a natural proclivity; and are un- 
folded into a larger understanding. 



-119— 



NOTE 

This little book will be followed by the publica- 
tion of another of about the same size. Title not 
yet selected. 

This volume discusses life from eight more view- 
points, or is taken up in eight more short essays, 
about as follows: 

The Individual and His Environment. 

Life and Action. 

Life's Incompleteness; or, The Unfinished Job 
of Things. 

The Awakening Consciousness. 

Personal Continuity. 

Force and Matter. 

The Meaning of Life's Turmoil; or, Progress 
Casting Off Its Dead. 

The Evolution of Reliability. 

What Then Matters Destruction? 



—120— 



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